


Plight of the Alchemist

by I_Logophile



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Bird Teapot, Bird Transformation, Blood and Gore, Broken Bones, Cassandra has Issues, Cassandra is Bad at Feelings (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra-centric (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra’s Revenge canon divergence, Cassie drops the F-bomb, Don’t worry it’s only for like 2 chapters, Excessive use of italics, Flashbacks, Gen, Guilty Cassandra, Hurt Varian (Disney), Major Character Injury, Medical Inaccuracies, POV Alternating, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Protective Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Scientific Inaccuracies, Team Awesome (Disney: Tangled), Temporary Character Death, Varian has issues, Varian whump, Varian-centric, Zhan Tiri is a jerk, b/c some things deserve to be EMPHASIZED, basically a season 3 rewrite, injury description, protective Quirin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 92,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27215575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Logophile/pseuds/I_Logophile
Summary: After a chance turn of events, the outcome of Varian’s kidnapping turns out a little differently, and Zhan Tiri takes interest in the young alchemist. As the demon secures a way for her to keep an eye on Varian, Cassandra begins to question whether her destiny is worth all the pain it’s caused.Meanwhile, after Cassandra believes she released Varian, everyone at the castle is still frantic to bring the alchemist, who seems to have gone missing without a trace, back home.Or, Varian gets turned into a bird, Cass has some existential crises, and Zhan Tiri makes everyone want to kill her.
Relationships: Cassandra & Varian (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra & Zhan Tiri, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Quirin & Varian (Disney), Zhan Tiri & Varian
Comments: 274
Kudos: 265





	1. The Avian Teapot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the summary’s not very good, but bear with me.  
> This was based on a prompt given to me by Crystal. Basically, Varian gets turned into a bird and Cassandra keeps him as a pet. Varian has three days before he goes “bird-brained” (rather than the one hour rule), and Rapunzel is doing her best to rescue him.
> 
> This first chapter’s more like a prologue which is why it’s so short. Most of my chapters will generally be 2,000+ words.

“Calliope?” the former Keeper of the Spire called his successor over from where she stood by the door, watching the princess and her group depart.

“Yes, Keeper?” she responded, bouncing over to him. She was still basking in the happiness brought from making the old Keeper proud.

“I have discovered a new artifact for the Spire,” he said, digging through his satchel. “Ah, yes. Here.” He withdrew his hand from the bag to show Calliope the shards of what must have once been a beautiful teapot. He set the fragments on a nearby table and Calliope picked through them, examining each one. She wanted to piece them together, but she hesitated, unsure if there was a reason for its broken state.

As if reading her mind, the Keeper looked up from his bag. “You can put it back together if you want. It can’t do any harm without tea,” he told her, nodding to the shards.

“Tea?” Calliope asked curiously as her hands got busy trying to fit each fragment together. 

“Yes,” he said distractedly as he stuck his whole arm into the satchel. “It, uh- Oh where is it?” He cut himself off as he retracted his arm and peered into the bag. 

“Ah-ha!” came his muffled voice. “There it is!” He shoved his arm back into the satchel and brought it back out holding what looked to be the teapot’s spout. The pattern of its pink and yellow coloring reminded Calliope of the neck and head of those flamingoes she’d been reading about the other day. The old Keeper placed the spout carefully on the table where she was almost finished putting the teapot back together. 

“Tea?” she reminded him. “Why does it need tea? Other than the obvious fact that it’s a teapot.”

“Oh, yes,” the Keeper said. “You see, Calliope, this artifact was crafted by Demanitus himself for his mother when he was just a boy. Beautiful craftsmanship if I do say so myself,” he added, gazing at the teapot’s elegant curves and impossibly unmarred paint, despite being centuries old. “However, an errant spell was said to have enchanted it. Now, whoever drinks—”

“What are these pieces for?” Calliope interrupted. “They don’t fit anywhere.”

“Those are for the teacups,” the Keeper answered patiently.

“Ohhh!” Calliope said, her eyes widening in understanding. “Oh, I- I knew that… I was just making sure that you knew that.”

Amusement twinkled in the Keeper’s eyes and he chuckled. “Of course.”

“So the enchantment?” Calliope prompted as if she hadn’t just interrupted him.

“Yes, according to the history books, an errant spell enchanted the teapot so that whoever drinks from it will transform into a bird,” the Keeper explained. “It is said that the drinker has approximately three days, depending on how much was drunk, before their minds follow their bodies and they lose themselves to their new avian instincts. They can only be reverted to their original state by cracking a blue egg from one of the transformed over their head. However, it was cautioned that a transformed human able to lay these blue eggs is an extremely rare occurrence.”

“Wow,” Calliope remarked as she fit the last piece into place. Suddenly there was a bright flash of pink light and the two Keepers were forced to shield their eyes. Once it faded, they looked at the table to see the teapot was whole once more, not a single crack remained to indicate it was once broken. The teacups, however, remained cracked.

“Wow,” Calliope repeated. “You know this is kinda like Darmium’s Dinner Plate, the one that—”

“That always repairs itself,” the Keeper finished, regarding the teapot with interest. 

“Well,” the Keeper said suddenly, clapping his hands and startling Calliope. “This is Demanitus’s Avian Teapot, find a safe place to put it in the vault. Perhaps by the Shapeshifting Cloak of Retudness? I believe there is an open alcove there.”

“Oh. O- Okay,” Calliope said, furrowing her brow slightly. 

“Right.” The Keeper nodded to himself. “Well, my dear Calliope, I hope to visit you in a few months, but for now, farewell.”

“Wait, what?” Calliope yelped. “What do you mean ‘visit’?”

“Well, you’re the Keeper of the Spire now,” he said. “So you must ‘keep’ the Spire, so to speak.”

“But where are you going?” she asked fretfully. 

“To find a nice place for my retirement,” he answered cheerfully. Then added in a gentler tone, “You’ll be fine, Calliope.”

With that, he strode out of the vault, the kurloc trailing after him. Calliope gazed after him with a conflicted expression before sighing and steeling herself.

“Alright, Calliope,” she said. “You’ll be fine. You’ve proved yourself. You’ve got this.”

Meanwhile, sunshine streamed through the open doors of the vault, landing on the Avian Teapot where the bluebird adorning its shoulder glistened innocently in the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, I completely made up Darmium’s Dinner Plate. It just kinda popped into my head while I was writing, so I was like “Ya know what? Sure.” And thus, Darmium’s Dinner Plate was born.  
> I also made up the backstory about the teapot (though I will admit, I’m quite proud of it). I just consider Mother and Father to be normal people who happened upon it.  
> Constructive criticism is welcomed and greatly valued. Grammar, spelling, plot, formatting, whatever it is, I’ll take it. I consider good feedback to be “writer’s fuel”.  
> Comments and kudos are profoundly appreciated.


	2. Broken Fingers & Smiling Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He didn’t understand what was happening. Cassie had hurt him. Why had she hurt him?”  
> . . . .  
> “‘Who are you? What are you?’  
> ‘I’m your friend,’ she said kindly. ‘Or at least I’d like to be.’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to post a new chapter at least once a week, but hopefully more (it all depends on school and sports).  
> (BTW, the chapter summaries will be little excerpts from the chapter).  
> Additionally, the line breaks that say “POV” mean that the point of view changes and the line breaks that say “TimeSkip” mean that it skips ahead in time (sometimes it also changes POV, but not always).  
> Enjoy!

Varian refused to give up. He could reach her, he knew he could. He just had to keep trying.

And then the world slowed down as it fell apart.

Everything moved as if it were stuck in amb- honey. As if it were stuck in honey. Or maybe he was the one stuck in honey and everything else was moving normally. Regardless, at that moment, everything was moving too slow and too fast.

A column of glowing black rocks shot toward him at the pace of a snail. And then suddenly, they were mere centimeters away. He moved to the side, hoping to get out of their path, but, it seemed, he moved too slow. 

The rocks slammed into his left shoulder, which was still in the way, with the strength of an avalanche. The force of the blow threw his whole body back in slow motion and he hit the ground, landing on his left arm. _Hard_.

Time sped up again as Varian’s shoulder and hand lit up in agony and a scream of pain tore itself out of his throat. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra froze at the sound of a scream. Her breathing stuttered and her muscles tensed.

 _No_.

Nonononononono. No. He wasn’t supposed to get hurt. Her words echoed in her head like a bitter taunt: _I don’t want to hurt you_. 

She went on autopilot and sprinted toward Varian, waving her hand at the black rocks jutting out of the ground to make them sink back into the floor. His moaning form was facing the wall, perfectly still; she would’ve thought him unconscious if not for the sounds he was making and the rigid way he held himself.

She slid to his side on her knees and put a hand on his arm, but he didn’t seem to notice. She leaned over him and saw tears leaking out of his tightly closed eyes, his face pulled into a grimace of pain.

“Varian?” she said, hating the slight quiver of trepidation in her voice. 

As if just realizing she was there, Varian gasped, his eyes flying open, and he recoiled reflexively. 

“Cassi- Cassandra?” Varian faltered, a strange undertone in his pain-filled voice. Cassandra’s stomach dropped to her shoes as he stuttered past his old nickname for her, and it fell all the way to the earth a thousand feet below as she realized the odd emotion coloring his tone was _fear_. 

Of her. 

Varian was _afraid_ of _her_.

Her heart wanted to stop, but she wouldn’t let it. She pushed down her feelings before they could overtake and control her.

“Varian,” she repeated. “What’s wrong? Where are you hurt?”

He didn’t look at her, his chest heaving in quick, erratic pants as his wide eyes remained fixed on the wall. His only sound came from his shallow gasps and his only movement from his shuddering chest.

“Varian,” she said forcefully, her voice edging on an impatient growl. Without even realizing it, she gripped his arm a little harder.

Varian released a soft whimper of fear, his tears coming faster now. At the sound, Cassandra registered her tight hold and let go as if burned. 

“I’m- I- It-,” Varian stammered, his voice laced with pain. He still wouldn’t look at her. “My- My left shoulder. And my hand. There’s something- something wrong with my hand.” 

“Right,” Cassandra said. At that moment, she half expected Varian to say ‘No, left’. When it didn’t come, she felt a surge of- something. Sorrow? Anger, maybe? At what though? Herself? Whatever. It didn’t matter. Without warning, she pulled Varian off of his side and onto his back. Though, perhaps she was a little too rough because her blood froze as Varian screeched in pain and surprise. 

He was crying in earnest now, his eyes squeezed shut as he started pleading with- with Cassandra? 

“ _Please_. Please stop. I’m sorry. I don’t- I won’t-,” he sobbed in agony, fear, and confusion. “I’m- I’m sorry. Please stop.”

Bile rose in her throat as she heard Varian beg and whimper. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Why did she keep hurting him? He didn’t understand what was happening. Cassie had hurt him. She keeps hurting him. Why? She’d said she didn’t _want_ to hurt him. 

But she did.

Varian’s pleas dissolved into moans as pain stabbed through his hand and pulsed in his shoulder. He cracked his eyes open and, through a film of tears, saw his shoulder was rapidly swelling, pulling his shirt sleeve taut around it. It looked misshapen like his arm had been detached and then reattached in the wrong place on his shoulder. It throbbed with a strained, tight sort of aching pain.

Varian’s gaze moved down his arm to his hand. 

And he nearly threw up. 

His fingers were all bent at various nauseating angles from when he’d landed on them. Except for his thumb, each one was twisted and contorted, every joint going in a different direction like a row of misaligned lightning bolts. 

His gaze lingered on his pinkie. The way it was angled sideways nearly ninety degrees away from the rest of his fingers. At how the middle digit alone was unnaturally bent to the side in two separate places, creating a crooked ‘C’ that let the top of the finger almost touch the side… the side of… his… hand… 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra jerked out of her horrified stupor when Varian went limp in front of her. Frantically scrambling forward, she put a finger under his nose. After a second she felt a puff of air warm her fingers and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank the Sun.” She allowed herself a moment to collect her thoughts before moving to Varian’s other side to examine his arm. 

His shoulder was swollen and appeared to be stuck in an awkward position behind his shoulder socket. Dislocated then. She should probably reset that before he wakes up, but first… Her eyes moved down his arm to his hand. 

Cassandra had to hold down her nausea as she _carefully_ took Varian’s hand. 

“Sorry, Varian,” she murmured as she pinched the tip of his gloved pinkie. She pulled slowly on the tip, gently guiding it off. When it got about halfway off, she stopped and repeated the process with the other fingers before she was able to pull the whole glove off of his hand.

She gagged on the bile that climbed up her throat, which burned as she forced herself to swallow it down. Suffice to say, trying to reset his fingers would be… _difficult_. And even if she managed to get them all back into place, she wasn’t sure they’d ever look right, let alone work, again.

Out of nowhere, a voice rose in her mind. _You did that. You. It’s your fault. He may never be able to use his fingers again. And it’s. Your. Fault!_

Cassandra shoved the voice down as far as she could.

Blinking back the tears of guilt that welled up in her unnaturally electric blue eyes, she glanced at Varian’s face. Seeing that he was still out cold, his face set in that same pained grimace, she turned back to his crooked, swollen fingers.

<}~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~{>

Varian was jolted awake by the excruciating, stabbing pain in each of the fingers on his left hand. He moaned and squinted his eyes open. 

And immediately closed them again as he remembered what happened. 

His arm felt like it was in a sling, but he didn’t look at it to confirm for fear of accidentally catching sight of his hand. He really didn’t want to look at his fingers, which he could feel were gloveless for some reason.

“You broke all the fingers on your left hand except for your thumb and dislocated your shoulder,” a young voice told him out of nowhere. 

Varian’s eyes snapped open and he straightened up quickly before regretting ever moving as his shoulder throbbed and his hand felt as though it were pulsing with needles. He groaned with his eyes closed as he tried to breathe through the pain. 

“We got it back in obviously,” the young voice offered. Varian squinted up through his fringe to see a young girl wearing an old fashioned dress standing in front of him.

Wait. No, that wasn’t right. 

She was _floating_ in front of him and she was also blue. And glowing. When his mouth fell open, she gave him what was probably supposed to be a reassuring look and smiled widely. 

Oh, great. She has a creepy smile too. Because of course she does.

“Who-,” he broke off, gritting his teeth as his shoulder suddenly throbbed harshly. Once the pain lessened slightly—or maybe he just got acclimated to it—, he tried again, “Who are you? What are you?”

“I’m your friend,” she said kindly—and by that, he meant creepily. “Or at least I’d like to be.” She paused for a moment as if considering something before answering his second question. “I suppose you could consider me a ghost of sorts, a spirit if you will.”

Varian didn’t say anything to that, instead giving her a disbelieving look before choosing to focus on his surroundings. He was in the same room as before—the dark throne room—, leaned up against a black rock spike near the ‘throne’. The only difference now was that the sky outside the tower was slowly turning pink, rather than being the clear blue of midday, so it must be early morning.

Oh, and there was a black rock manacle around his ankle directly connected to the black rock floor. Both of which, of course, were indestructible. Which was fine. Perfectly fine.

He was trying desperately not to think about the woman who’d undoubtedly put the restraint there, but as the silence stretched on and the spirit—if she was to be believed, which was unlikely—continued watching and smiling at him, he gave in.

“Where’s Cassi- Cassandra?” he asked, wincing at the near slip-up with his old nickname for her. 

Impossibly, the girl’s smile grew wider, all but splitting her face in two. Varian shuddered involuntarily as her purple eyes moved up and down his seated form, observing him, _studying_ him. Feeling like the insects he used to catch when he was younger, Varian squirmed before stilling with a hiss as he accidentally brushed his fingers against his chest. Instinctively he looked down.

And immediately regretted it.

He seemed to be regretting a lot lately.

He was indeed wearing a sling made from what apparently used to be his maroon vest, leaving him in only his collared, white button-down. But that wasn’t what he was really paying attention to. It was his fingers, swollen and purple, looking like malformed sausages on his normally slender hand. Varian noted gratefully that most of them looked straighter, though he did _not_ want to think about what resetting them must’ve been like. What it must’ve _sounded_ like.

However, not all of them were straight. While his pinkie was bent at roughly forty-three degrees now rather than ninety, the middle digit still seemed to be broken in two places, creating that crooked ‘C’. 

His ring finger looked relatively normal until he got to the end of it. 

Varian felt vaguely lightheaded as he regarded the last digit. It sat more or less perpendicular to the rest of his finger, pointing slightly inward toward his palm. It must have been forced completely out of place because Varian could see the end of the joint, the part normally attached to the middle digit, pushing up against the skin on the back of his finger.

Before he could cause himself to pass out again—though, honestly, that wouldn’t be entirely unwelcome—, he tore his gaze away from the gruesome sight and looked at the young girl still floating in front of him. 

“Where’s Cassandra?” he repeated and cursed silently when his voice cracked.

“Oh, she’ll be around,” the girl said vaguely, still grinning broadly.

“Okay…” Varian decided he didn’t want to keep talking to her, the girl’s smile was giving him all kinds of bad vibes. 

But apparently, the girl wanted to continue the conversation. 

“You know that scroll of yours is quite special,” she remarked randomly, her smile never wavering. “Though Cassandra’s said you’ve only translated three of the incantations.”

Varian perked up, latching onto her words, despite himself.

“ _Only_ three of the incantations?” he asked, simultaneously confused and curious. “As in, there are more of them?”

“Oh, yes,” she giggled. “You didn’t know?”

Varian gave her a deadpan look and raised an eyebrow. “Obviously.”

The girl’s smile flickered suddenly, her expression turning murderous. Varian’s heart skipped a beat and he shrank back, fearing he’d somehow gone too far. But just as quickly as it disappeared, her grin reappeared, wide and chilling as ever, if a little more forced than before.

Varian continued watching her warily, his shoulder and fingers throbbing in time with his thumping heart. 

“Do you want a hint?” she asked abruptly and Varian flinched before hissing in pain as mini lightning bolts of agony shot through his fingers. 

“W- What?”

“A hint. Do you want a hint?” she repeated slowly as if speaking to a small child. Varian opened his mouth to snap at her, but then thought better of it, deciding it wasn’t worth angering the seemingly volatile young girl. 

“For the last incantation?” he affirmed.

“A bright one, aren’t you?” She laughed. “Yes, for the last incantation, do you want a hint?”

“I mean, sure?” he said uncertainly, making it sound more like a question than an answer.

Suddenly, the girl looked serious. “You must use the sun to see the Sun,” she said solemnly.

There was a beat of silence before Varian said, “Wait, what?”

“I thought you were supposed to be smart.” She laughed again, grinning, before repeating her hint, “Use the sun to see the Sun.”

Suddenly, the girl began floating towards him. As she drew closer, Varian found himself trying to lean away even though the spike at his back kept him from doing so. She stopped about a foot away, regarding him with an unreadable expression. 

“The scroll is in your bag.” She nodded toward the bag that he’d just now noticed sitting on his right. “Nothing in there will help you escape, though,” she added, seeing his excited expression as he grabbed the bag. He searched through it anyway, hoping that maybe, _maybe_... Nope, she was right. The only things left in it were the scroll, as she’d said, a broken quill, and the small notebook he carried around to jot down random thoughts and ideas. 

Varian sighed heavily, feeling helpless. He felt a slight flicker of irritation as he felt the girl continue watching him.

“What?” he snapped before he could think about the consequences. He shrank back against the black rock, fearing her reaction.

“Oh, nothing.” She waved the air vaguely. “You just… remind me of someone.”

Varian raised an eyebrow, curious despite himself. “And who would I remind a spirit of?” Then he scoffed before he could stop himself, “If you even are spirit, that is. You probably just bought some old clothes and covered yourself with some kind of a bioluminescent paste, like from crushed up foxfire mushrooms or something.” 

Varian was gratified—and frankly a little terrified—to see the girl’s unnatural smile twitch. Her eyes remained too wide and she didn’t blink, staring down at Varian as if he were a misbehaving puppy. Varian’s heart started pounding a little faster and he found himself wanting to give in to the growing urge to fidget under her gaze. The silence stretched on, fraught with tension.

“Well,” she said so suddenly that Varian flinched, half-expecting a blow despite her small stature. He winced as his hand bumped against his chest, making small needles of agony prickle across his fingers. Though at least this time, he kept himself from looking at it.

“I suppose you could be right,” the little girl continued. “But,” she closed in, drawing near enough that he could’ve touched her if he’d wanted to, “if I weren’t a spirit, then how could I do this?” She raised a small, delicate hand—he noted somewhere in the back of his mind that her white gloves were well-worn despite their spotless appearance—and pressed it against his injured hand.

Or, rather, pressed it _through_ his injured hand.

He screamed, partially from shock and partially from pain, as her dainty hand passed into his broken fingers. It was horrible, the feeling of something that should be solid just going right through him. It was as if her molecules were battling with his for the space they were both occupying. And while his molecules seemed to be winning, otherwise his hand surely would’ve fallen off, it still hurt like _hell_. It felt like having frostbitten fingers and then dipping them into boiling water. His body couldn’t figure out if it was freezing or if it was boiling. His hand throbbed and his fingers twitched involuntarily, making his nerve endings feel as though they were being jabbed with tiny ice picks over and over.

He writhed, trying to get away, but the black rock manacle around his ankle pinned his leg to the floor, keeping him locked in place. He kicked his other leg, but it went right through her, leaving his calf muscle seizing up and cramping as it was attacked by the tiny ice picks as well. He looked up at the girl to see that horrible grin splitting her face in half. Her eyes glinted in a mad light as Varian realized something. She was enjoying this. She was enjoying his pain. And that, he found, was what truly terrified him.

Out of nowhere, she backed away, clasping her hands behind her back, her eyes never leaving him. Varian gasped as the horrible feeling faded to the normal stabbing pain he was becoming accustomed to. He slumped against the rocks, his chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath. 

He looked up at the little girl—the _spirit_ —, who suddenly seemed much more menacing than before, and saw that she was no longer smiling gleefully as she regarded him. Now, her wide mouth was contorted into a frightening scowl and her eyebrows were drawn together over narrowed eyes as she looked at him with pure _loathing_. Varian blanched, his heart hammering against his rib cage as he began trembling.

Suddenly, her expression flipped so drastically, that Varian thought she was going to do it again and he cringed away from her. When nothing happened, he glanced back up to see her too-wide smile back in place.

“Remember,” she said cheerfully as if nothing had happened. “Use the sun to see the Sun.” With that, she disappeared into thin air. 

Varian’s hand throbbed again, making him hiss in pain.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

He was too much like him. 

He was too much like _Demanitus_.

Zhan Tiri’s mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.

He was so much like her old partner it almost made her nauseous. Even his _personality_ was reminiscent of Demanitus. His quirks, his bearing, his expressions… It made her want to strangle the life out of him. Though she had to admit, if she did that, he wouldn’t be able to scream.

Oh, his screams were music to her ears. The pain in his voice gave her a feeling of euphoria she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. And the _fear!_ The fear was invigorating! She could almost pretend it actually _was_ Demanitus she was torturing. He even had the same expression Demanitus got whenever he was stumped. Where their mouth turned down at the corner while they squinted one eye and raised an eyebrow.

If only Cassandra didn’t have such a soft spot for him. Zhan Tiri had originally suggested torture to get the incantation out of him, wanting to have some fun, but Cassandra had outright refused, blabbering on about how ‘he was just a kid’. Ugh, she was surprised Cassandra had ever managed to get _anything_ done before.

Hmm, speaking of…

“Cassandra,” Zhan Tiri called out to the woman running past her, propelling herself up the stairs with bursts of rock. The wielder of the Moonstone slowed at her call, turning around. Zhan Tiri smiled.

“I heard Varian screaming,” Cassandra huffed impatiently. “I need to- I’m going to make sure he’s secure.” 

“Oh, he’s fine.” Zhan Tiri waved a hand dismissively. “He just had a nightmare.”

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the spirit before a thought seemed to hit her and they widened. “About what?” she asked slowly, hesitantly.

“Hmm, I believe he was muttering something about ciphers,” Zhan Tiri lied. “I didn’t hear much though.”

Cassandra’s expression relaxed slightly, probably relieved that the ‘nightmare’ wasn’t about her. 

“Right,” the woman said. “Well, I’m going to check on his injuries.” She turned away, leaving Zhan Tiri grinning on the stairs.


	3. Your Actions Bespeak Your Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Adrenaline flooded his veins, but it wasn’t because he felt afraid. It was because he felt angry. He felt _betrayed._ "  
> . . . .  
> "'Did you know there’s a spirit floating around here?' he asked."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read and reread and edited and re-edited this chapter so many times.... I’m still not particularly happy with the way some parts played out, but I felt they were needed in order to keep the story moving and to remain true to how I think the characters would act. 
> 
> But, regardless of how I feel about it, I hope you enjoy the chapter!  
> (We bringin’ on the angst in this one ;))

_Use the sun to see the Sun…_

What did that even mean?

Varian was, for the second time in his short life, utterly stumped. _Use the sun to see the Sun_? Use… the _sun_... to see…

Varian groaned and dropped the scroll before burying his face in his palm.

“Why do I even bother? This could mean absolutely nothing for all I know.” He dragged his hand across his face, pulling his goggles off while he grumbled to the air. “This could all just be some sort of sick game or something meant to give me a headache.”

He looked out the window at the rising sun and then back down at the blank side scroll sitting next to him where he’d dropped it.

“ _Use_ the sun to _see_ the… Argh! This is pointless!” he yelled into the empty throne room. In his frustration, he chucked his goggles away. “This doesn’t even make sense!”

He let out a long, low groan as he slammed his face repeatedly into his right palm. His left fingers zinged painfully, but he ignored it in favor of wallowing in despair. However, after a moment, his brain automatically started trying to pick apart the hint once again and he looked back at the blank side of the scroll.

Except it wasn’t blank. Symbols from the cipher that hadn’t been there three seconds ago were now written across the paper in neat script. Varian’s mouth dropped open and he grabbed the scroll, disregarding the soreness in his left shoulder trying to make itself known.

“Power of the- No!” He started translating it, only to see the words begin fading off the page. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out the catalyst for the words’ appearance and subsequent disappearance. His gaze latched onto his goggles, hanging from a black rock spike they’d been caught on when he threw them. The rising sun was casting beams all across the throne room and, as it happened, one was shining through the lens of his goggles. He followed the concentrated ray of light to where it landed on the ground next to him. Right where the scroll had been.

“Aha! Use the sun to see the Sun! It’s written in photoreactive ink!” he crowed triumphantly, placing the scroll back under the beam. “Yes! It’s working!” the alchemist cried as the words began reappearing on the paper. 

“ _Power of the Sun,  
Gift me with your Light.  
Shine into the Dark,  
Restore our fading Sight.  
Rise into the Dawn,  
Blazing Star so bright,  
Burn away the strife.  
Let my Hope ignite.  
Let Hope ignite._” 

Once he finished translating, he waited for a few seconds with bated breath. Nothing happened. Though, to be honest, he wasn’t really expecting anything to. He still found all this ‘magic’ stuff to be baffling. It just didn’t make sense! He was certain there was a perfectly reasonable, _scientific_ explanation for everything… He just hadn’t figured it out yet.

“I’ve got to get this to Rapunzel,” he muttered, rereading the incantation a few times under his breath and committing it to memory. 

Abruptly, the deep rumble of grinding stone filled his ears. He snatched the scroll off the ground and shoved it hastily back into his bag. 

“Hey, Varian,” a familiar voice drawled. “You drop those?” 

He froze, paralyzed as painful memories washed over him. 

Hard, unforgiving black rocks. Excruciating pain as his shoulder was forced out of the socket. The harsh thud of his body hitting the ground. The small, cracking pops of sharp agony as his fingers bent, twisted, and broke beneath his heavy body. Cassandra’s cold, iron grip on his arm. The crooked ‘C’ of his broken pinkie—

“Varian!” He was forced back to reality by the sound of his name accompanied by fingers snapping in his face. He went cross-eyed to look at the armored fingers as they withdrew from his personal space. His gaze followed them upward to see Cassi- Cassandra standing in front of him with her hand on her hip. Her lips were moving to say something and she lifted her arm to point at where his goggles hung on the spike.

His mouth went dry as he stared into the unnaturally blue eyes of the woman who’d hurt him. Adrenaline flooded his veins, but it wasn’t because he felt afraid. It was because he felt angry. He felt _betrayed._

His own blue eyes narrowed and his face set itself into a hard glower as he regarded his former friend with a look of pure venom.

“Hello, _Cassandra_ ,” he said, mimicking the baleful tone he’d once used when confronting Rapunzel and the King all those years ago. 

The animosity in his voice must’ve caught her off guard because she lowered her arm and took a step back, her mask of indifference slipping. Cassandra’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, making her look like a fish out of water. 

He felt a familiar vindictive glee rise up in him at having unsettled her. Then he remembered where that sort of thing had gotten him in the past: locked behind bars for a year with only Ruddiger and an obsessed Saporian for company.

He backed down, letting go of the surge of adrenaline and allowing his hateful expression to fade as he folded into himself. Well, as much as he could with his right leg pinned to the floor. He felt another spark of anger and indignity at the reminder of his current position but quickly tamped it down. 

His left knee bumped against his hand as he brought it up to his chest, sending bolts of pain shooting through his fingers. A whimper rose in his throat against his will and he locked his jaw in an attempt to stifle it, but apparently, Cassandra still heard the pained noise and she took a step forward before hesitating.

He could see the conflict clear on her face as she struggled with some sort of indecision. Eventually, one side must have won out because then she crouched down next to him. He averted his gaze, resolving to simply remain silent.

“Varian?” Cassandra asked, her voice sounding worried and slightly unsure. She sighed. “How’s your shoulder? And your fingers?”

Varian’s mouth must’ve had a mind of its own because suddenly he was sneering as he heard himself reply with bitter sarcasm. “Why do you ask?” he wondered aloud in a falsely innocent voice dripping with resentment. “There’s nothing wrong with them…” He let his gaze slowly drift to his sling. “Oh, you mean the shoulder you dislocated? And the fingers you broke? Those?” His voice had dropped to a growl and his expression was darker than a moonless night.

Cassandra didn’t flinch at his biting words, instead, her face went carefully blank and her eyes remained trained on him. 

“How are they?” she repeated. Even her voice sounded blank. 

Varian huffed and this time, managed to keep his silence.

“You know, I _can_ just use the rocks to pin you to the ground so I can check them myself?” she reminded him, a little frustration coloring her otherwise indifferent tone. “But I’d rather not do that, so it’d be better for both of us if you’d just cooperate.”

Varian had half a mind to simply ignore her, but, at the same time, he really didn’t want to get shackled to the floor and rendered completely helpless for an indefinite amount of time. He also did not want to be caught in such a vulnerable position if the spirit girl happened to come back. 

His mind drifted off track slightly as he wondered whether or not Cassandra knew of the girl. The spirit had mentioned her talking about the incantations, but she’d never specified if Cassandra had been speaking to _her_.

“Did you know there’s a spirit floating around here?” he asked suddenly.

Cassandra’s face shifted through several different emotions in rapid succession. Startlement. Shock. Confusion. Mistrust. And confusion again, but this time tinged with anger.

She turned to look at the empty air behind her. “You never said anyone else could see you!” she gritted out indignantly to no one.

“Who are you—” Varian began but choked himself off as the young spirit girl materialized behind Cassandra.

“People can only see me if I allow them to,” she explained innocently, a smile curling across her face. “I only wanted to meet him,” the spirit continued, grinning a little wider, a little sharper, as her gaze drifted over to him, “and have a little chat.”

Varian shivered, his blood freezing when her large eyes pinned him to the ground as well as any manacle. Cassandra glanced over at him, her brow furrowed, and he had to stop himself from throwing her a pleading look. 

“...About what exactly?” Cassandra asked slowly. For some inexplicable reason, she seemed to be directing the question at him. 

Varian’s eyes flickered over to the spirit. Her too-wide smile was fixed in place, unwavering and unsettling as she watched at him, her face betraying none of her thoughts. He licked his lips uneasily, hesitant to answer for fear of incurring the volatile spirit’s wrath.

Ultimately, he elected to evade the question entirely by asking his own questions, “How do you know her? What is she to you? _Who_ is she?”

Cassandra scowled. “That’s none of your concern, now is it?”

Varian glared at the woman. “It is when she—” He clamped his mouth shut, blanching and glancing fearfully at the girl. Her sharp eyes felt a little colder as they drilled into his soul, but her grin remained stretched across her face.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. “When she what?” Her tone was hard, a dangerous edge to it, though she wasn’t looking at Varian.

The spirit’s smile dropped slightly. “He didn’t believe I was a ghost,” she sniffed. “I merely proved to him that I was.”

“Yeah, by shoving your hand through me,” Varian muttered darkly, looking at the floor. Though it seemed he hadn’t been quiet enough because Cassandra turned sharply toward him.

“Excuse me?” Cassandra asked. 

Varian peeked at the spirit worriedly through his fringe. She didn’t _look_ particularly angry, so he pulled his gaze away to face Cassandra. “She, um, she put her hand through me…” His eyes flickered nervously to the girl. She didn’t seem to care about the admission, so Varian let out a soft sigh of relief. He glanced at Cassandra to see her expression hadn’t changed. She looked back and forth between Varian and the spirit, apparently trying to gauge the atmosphere. Her brow furrowed in thought. 

“And that was all?” she asked.

Varian thought about the hint for the incantation but decided to keep that to himself. He nodded in answer. 

Cassandra searched his face for a moment before turning back to the girl and giving her a pointed look. She seemed to send her a silent message to which the spirit simply nodded and disappeared.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra faced Varian once more. “Right, so how’s your shoulder and your fingers?” she asked, stubbornly returning to her original focus. 

He blinked at the sudden switch before heaving a sigh. “My shoulder’s sore and my fingers hurt,” he admitted curtly. He was probably being purposefully vague just to spite her.

Cassandra’s jaw tightened for a moment before unclenching with a defeated sigh. She relaxed on the floor in front of him, one knee pulled up to her chest with her arm draped over it. “You know, I- I really didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said, avoiding his eyes, ashamed. 

Varian’s lip curled. “Right, so lemme get this straight, the black rocks that only you can control, which were heading right toward me, were, what? An accident?” He scoffed disbelievingly, the anger resurfacing in his eyes. “Yeah, no. I don’t think so.”

As he spoke, Cassandra stiffened, her fist clenching. She gritted her teeth and retorted angrily, “I never wanted to hurt you! I only ever wanted the incanta—”

“Right, and if I hadn’t had that truth serum, how were you planning on getting the incantation out of me? Huh?” he snarled. “You know, two days ago, I wouldn’t have believed you capable, but now I wonder if you’re really above torturing a— Ow! Cassandra, stop!” He broke off with a yelp, his face twisting in pain, as the manacle around his ankle tightened.

Cassandra’s growing outrage melted away as she glanced down at her clenching fist and then at the black rocks crushing Varian’s ankle. Horrified, she relaxed her hand and quickly waved away the manacle entirely.

Distraught, she leaned over and went to roll up his pant leg to see if there had been any damage. “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t even realize—”

“Save it,” Varian interrupted her with a pained scowl. A bitter and miserable smile formed on his face, “You know, I read once that ‘Your actions bespeak your intentions’.” He gave her a scathing look. “I’d say that seems to hold true in this case.” Cassandra flinched at the accusation while Varian drew his knee up to his chest and out of her reach. But not before she caught sight of the dark, angry ring of bruises forming around his ankle. She winced, feeling wretched.

Glancing at his sling and broken fingers only amplified the feeling. She’d tried to reset them all while he’d been unconscious, and even succeeded with most, but she couldn’t fix his third finger or his pinkie. Every time she tried with his ring finger, the knob of the joint got stuck on something and she just couldn’t make herself keep going for fear that she would damage it further. His pinky finger was worse though. She’d had the same problem as with his ring finger, only being able to get the knuckle halfway back into place before losing her nerve. And it seemed like his middle digit had all but completely split into three separate pieces. Ultimately, she’d determined that the cracked bone was simply too delicate for her inexperienced hands to try and fix, but it made her feel no less frustrated with her helplessness.

Cassandra found her gaze drawn to his pinkie, the crooked ‘C’. _You did that. He may never be able to use his fingers again. How is he supposed to keep doing his experiments without half of his hand? It’s all your fault. All you do is hurt. You only cause pain to those around you. You don’t even have to try, you just hurt and hurt and hurt. It’s all you’re good at—_

She abruptly left the room, and Varian’s goggles hung forgotten on the black spike as they swayed slightly in the disturbed air from her sudden exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Please let me know in the comments!  
> As always, kudos and constructive criticism are a great source of writer’s fuel and are therefore enormously appreciated.


	4. Can I Go Home Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Varian was tense and on edge, his brain battling back and forth between relief—Rapunzel was here!—and apprehension—Rapunzel was _here_ , in the tower, with _Cassandra_.  
> There was no way this would end well."  
> . . . .  
> “'It’s good to be back.'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically the end of "Cassandra's Revenge Part 2", but I have it heavily summarized and it skips around a whole bunch. Just assume that everything I don't specify on in here happens the same as it does in the episode.  
> Enjoy!

“Pascal?” Varian asked, shock and hope coloring his voice. “How did- What are you- Is Rapunzel here?”

The little chameleon gave him a tiny nod and a squeak of affirmation from where he was pressed, barely visible, against Varian’s spike. Varian couldn’t stop the relief flooding through him. He was going to be rescued! Finally, he could get away from that spirit and Cassa- all the pain. And he could see his dad agai—

His dad.

Ohhhhh boy.

His dad was going to _kill_ him! He’s never going to let Varian leave the house ever again! How is he going to collect supplies and samples for his alchemy if he can’t ever go outside?

Wait, Ruddiger could probably get stuff for him— Oh no, poor Ruddiger! He’s probably worried sick! 

Although, then again, he could just be eating apples. The sneaky little raccoon was probably taking this chance to eat all the apples he could without Varian there to make sure he didn’t get too fat and die of a heart attack.

Varian shifted, twisting to look around the throne room for any sign of the blonde princess, but stopped when he felt a tug on his ankle. Looking down, he heaved a weary sigh. Cassandra had replaced the manacle when she’d left earlier that day. His only consolation was that it wasn’t on his bruised ankle. He glanced at his right ankle and rolled up his pant leg, deciding to check on it. Gently, he prodded at different sections of the multicolored bruise, hissing under his breath whenever he poked too hard. The whole thing was tender and slightly swollen, with dark colors ranging from yellow and green to purple and blue. Though he guessed he could thank the Sun above that nothing had broken, he didn’t think could deal with a sore, throbbing shoulder, broken fingers, _and_ a broken ankle. He might as well just fall apart and be done with it altogether. 

He looked at his shoulder, also prodding it with his other hand, and was delighted to find that it felt a little better than it had that morning. It was still sore, making it painful to try and move, but the swelling was done some. And ‘some’ was better than ‘none’.

He didn’t particularly want to look at his fingers—he could feel how they were well enough without having to actually see them—, so he refrained from glancing down at the gruesome, twisted appendages. He’d tried to finish resetting them himself, but every time he thought he’d worked up the courage—“Come on, Varian! How are you going to keep inventing and experimenting if you can’t utilize _all_ of your appendages? Fingers are vital!—, he’d bail as soon as he touched his hand, which would send shooting sparks of agony through his fingers.

“Varian!” a voice admonished him suddenly. “When were you going to tell me you’d made a friend?”

Varian tensed, and slowly looked up to see Cassandra standing in front of him, her hand on her hip as she tsked disappointedly. She leaned down and caught Pascal in one hand as he tried to make a run for it. She smirked at the lizard in her grip and somehow _caught_ his tongue between her fingers when he tried to shoot it at her face.

“Really, Pascal?” She chided. “That trick’s getting a little old, don’t ya think?” She let go of his tongue and tossed the little chameleon into the air before catching him again.

“Don’t hurt him!” Varian blurted, angry at how casually she just _tossed_ a living being.

Cassandra seemed to remember his presence and looked back down at him. Varian shrank into himself, his irritation dissipating at her warning look. Without another word, she turned on her heel and stalked across the throne room, behind a wall of spikes, and out of his line of sight. Varian remained tense and on edge, his brain battling back and forth between relief—Rapunzel was here!—and apprehension—Rapunzel was _here_ , in the tower, with _Cassandra_. 

There was no way this would end well.

An eternity later, Varian heard voices. “Pascal? Pascal? Come out, buddy!”

Relief won over apprehension and Varian looked around to see if he could spot the princess before calling out to her, “Rapunzel?”

“Varian!” two voices cried behind him. Varian craned his neck around the cluster of spikes at his back and saw Rapunzel and Eugene running toward him, happiness and relief evident on both of their faces. The two slid on their knees to his side and Rapunzel crushed him in a big bear-hug, consequently also crushing his broken fingers and sore shoulder.

Pain shot through his shoulder and needles of agony lanced through his fingers, forcing a short scream out of him. Alarmed, Rapunzel recoiled so hard she fell back on her hands.

“Varian!” Eugene exclaimed, his forehead creased with worry and concern. His brown eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the sling, but his face became ashen when he took in the twisted, broken state of Varian’s fingers. “Varian, buddy, what happened?”

Rapunzel followed his gaze and gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Varian glanced down at his hand but quickly averted his eyes when they saw his mangled pinkie and misshapen ring finger. 

“It, um… It…” Varian’s voice died in his throat as he struggled to speak. 

Eugene’s face softened in understanding. “It’s okay,” he said. “We can talk about it later.”

Varian gave him a grateful smile before he remembered something. “Oh! Rapunzel!” He turned to the princess, who was still agonizing over his fingers. 

She looked up. “Yes, Varian?”

“There was another incantation on the scroll!” he said. Lowering his voice and keeping an eye out for Cassandra, he recited what he’d dubbed ‘The Hope Incantation’. He also told them about the spirit who’d given him the hint, purposefully leaving out the part where she stuck her hand through him so as not to worry them. Though once he’d relayed the whole story, he was struck by another memory.

Looking at the floor in shame, Varian quietly admitted, “And, uh, there’s one other thing…” He rubbed the back of his neck before letting his arm go limp. He looked up at the couple. “I told Cassandra the other incantation, the one you were originally having me translate.” Their eyes widened in shock and… betrayal. Varian wilted under their heavy gazes and rushed on, “She found a vial of truth serum in my bag and gave me some while I was unconscious. It wasn’t my fault, I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t help it and it all just came out and—“

Rapunzel cut him off, “Varian! Varian, it’s okay! We understand, you had no choice.” She gave him a soft, sympathetic look and Varian thought he might cry. Whether it was subconscious or not, he’d been inwardly terrified of their reactions whenever he told them about giving up the incantation. He’d pushed down the worry, focusing on other things, yet it had still been eating him alive in the back of his mind the entire time. But they’d accepted him! They understood that it wasn’t his fault, that he hadn’t wanted to betray them again! It felt like he’d just shed a weight he hadn’t known he’d been carrying.

Varian gave them the most grateful smile he could muster and the two returned it with smiles of their own. Eugene put his calloused hand on Varian’s uninjured shoulder, and Rapunzel went to put a hand on his leg but stopped when she noticed the manacle around his left ankle and the bruises peeking out from under his right pant leg.

“Oh, Varian,” she murmured sadly. Eugene followed her eyes and clenched his fist when he saw the manacle. 

“ _Cassandra_ ,” Varian heard him growl under his breath, his tone promising great bodily harm. 

Varian chuckled without humor. “Yeah, um, ya got a way to get me out of that?” he asked drily.

Before either of them could answer, a mocking voice filled the room. “Well, isn’t this _touching_.”

Varian flinched at Cassandra’s appearance and Rapunzel and Eugene stood up to face their former friend. 

<}~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~{>

The only thing keeping Varian from flying off the tower was the black rock manacle around his ankle.

He yelled, but the howling winds only ripped his voice from his throat and added it to their collection. 

Something brown hit him _hard_ on the head, making him see stars for a second. When his vision cleared, he managed to look up to see his goggles flying away, caught by the wind’s grasping fingers.

Suddenly, an enormous explosion of light and sound rocked the tower, and then everything was still. 

<}~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~{>

“—rian! Varian!” a voice gradually filtered through the ringing in his ears. Dazed, Varian slowly looked up from where he lay spread-eagled on the ground. 

Cassandra stood over him, panting harshly and scowling, her unnatural blue hair tangled and windblown. 

“Varian!” She repeated, the anger in her voice seemed to reach through the haze in his brain and jolt him into awareness. He suddenly became conscious of the harsh, throbbing pain in his shoulder and the splinters of agony embedded in his fingers. He moaned and started curling into a ball to hide from… well, everything really. 

“ _Varian!_ ” Cassandra yelled at him impatiently. The threat clear in her voice was the _only_ reason Varian made himself start trying to move. With only one arm, he struggled to push his body up and get his wobbly legs underneath him—Huh, where did the manacle go?—, but it seemed he wasn’t moving fast enough. Cassandra huffed and roughly grabbed his uninjured shoulder, pulling him up the rest of the way and earning a surprised yelp from the confused alchemist. She didn’t say another word as she dragged him across the demolished throne room to the staircase. 

“Cass- Cassie?” Varian slurred. His head kind of hurt, had something hit him? He couldn’t seem to remember. “Can I go ho- home now?” He looked hopefully at her back. “Cause I gave you the incan- incantation, right? I’m done now?” 

Cassandra’s steps never faltered as she continued leading Varian down the stairs, but he noticed her shoulders tense beneath her black armor. 

“I miss my- my dad,” he continued. “And I bet- I bet he probably misses me,” he trailed off, his eyes drifting to rest on the stairs passing beneath his feet. His head was beginning to pound and his eyes felt heavy. His shoulder was throbbed and his fingers felt like lightning was dancing through them.

He looked up to see Cassandra glancing at him over her shoulder in concern. When their eyes met, her face lit up with understanding. 

“You have a concussion,” she told him bluntly. He looked at her in bewilderment. “Only a little one,” was all she said further.

They traversed down the stairs in silence for several more minutes before Cassandra stopped and waved her hand at the wall. The sound of grinding rock filled the air as a small room gradually formed in the wall. When the grating stopped, Cassandra led him in and sat him down on what could’ve passed for a cot if it had blankets or a pillow.

“You’ll have to stay here for the time being.” She sighed, her previous shortness vanished. “I’ll bring you some food later.” As she turned to leave, some of the fog in Varian’s brain cleared and he caught her armored hand in his remaining gloved one. 

She started to rip her hand out of his grasp, but, before she could, Varian asked in a voice of desperation, “Cassandra, can I _please_ go home?”

The woman only stared at him for a moment, her face unreadable, before she yanked her hand away and walked stiffly out of the room. With a snap of her fingers, black rocks slid over the opening of the room, condemning him to the darkness.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Outside of Varian’s new room—it was not a cell, it was a _room_ , she told herself—Cassandra slid to the floor, gripping her head between her hands. She released a heavy sigh and slumped against the wall, feeling absolutely drained.

In the silence that followed, Cassandra could hear faint sniffles from behind the wall and felt even worse.

“What am I doing?” she asked herself. “I’ve dragged a, what? Fifteen? Sixteen-year-old kid into a fight that’s not his. I’ve drugged him, dislocated his shoulder, all but destroyed his hand, nearly crushed his ankle, and now he’s got a concussion? What was I thinking?!” She beat her head against her palm. “And this is all for what? Destiny? If my destiny is to hurt and traumatize children, then…” she trailed off, but the rest of the thought echoed in her head. _Is this what I really want?_

“Not losing your faith, are you?” the spirit suddenly said in front of her. Cassandra looked up to see the young girl standing before her. 

Wait. Standing?

Cassandra’s jaw dropped and she stammered, “What- How- What happened to you?”

The girl laughed. Her smile stretched across her pale face and her purple eyes were filled with glee. Rather than various shades of light blue, the no-longer-spirit girl wore a dark grey and black dress, and her eyes were now purple. She looked solid, corporeal, and Cassandra could feel the air move when the girl did. She picked a piece of lint off her skirt before crushing it in her fist.

The girl’s smile split her face in half as she told Cassandra, “It’s good to be back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, *rubs hands together* next chapter we’re finally getting into it! I’m so excited!!  
> Although I am sad to say that, my updates may slow down a bit; school is picking up and I’ll be going back to in-person school in another week. Winter sports will also be starting in another week, so don’t expect daily updates like I’ve been doing. :’(
> 
> ALSO, I need help figuring out a name for bird Varian! If you want to know what he looks like, then look up “pacific steller’s jays” (they’re the ones with the blue stripe on their crest). My first thought was that Cass would name him, like, “Jay” or something in order to keep with her practical names like “Owl”, but then my overactive brain was like: “But maybe that kind of name would make her feel sad because Owl left her??” soooooo.... yeah. To start you along, I was thinking something that’s still practical but wouldn’t remind her of Rapunzel or anything.  
> Some ideas I had:  
> Jay(obviously)  
> A constellation(to go with the steller/stellar theme)  
> ...  
> Yeah that’s all I had... O_O
> 
> Comments, kudos, name suggestions, and constructive criticism are vastly appreciated!


	5. To Save a Steller’s Jay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Suddenly, something caught her eye. A teapot. A very familiar teapot.  
> 'Well, well,' she said, striding over to it. 'I haven’t seen you in a long time.'"  
> . . . .  
> "Varian started to fall forward and put his hands out to—What happened to his hands?!  
> And with that magical development, Varian the alchemist, the self-proclaimed 'Man of Science', fainted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same thing as before, this chapter starts out based on Race to the Spire and anything I don’t specify happens as it does in the episode.
> 
> Also, yes, the chapter title is a play on "To Kill a Mockingbird". No, I haven't read the book.
> 
> Has anyone noticed the play on the title of the story? Think music...

“He’s served his purpose, we need to let him go!” the wielder of the Moonstone yelled in frustration.

Zhan Tiri sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She and Cassandra must have been arguing about this for at least an hour now. They were on their way to the Spire to retrieve the Mind Trap and Cassandra mentioned offhandedly that, once they got back to the tower, she would release Varian and return him to the castle. 

This, Zhan Tiri decided, was unacceptable. In the time Varian had been held captive, she’d been observing him, comparing him to Demanitus. Ultimately, she’d determined that he could not be allowed to return to Rapunzel. He was too much like her old partner. He was too _smart_. She couldn’t risk him figuring out who she was and then finding a way to trap her again as Demanitus had. Or, at the very least, create something that would tip the battle in the Sundrop’s favor. Sadly, she couldn’t simply kill him. He could still have his uses in the future, and the chance of someone finding out and then Cassandra catching wind of it was too high. The Moonstone wielder was already wary of her presence around the boy, and, no matter how much she might like to think otherwise, Cassandra wasn’t dumb; she would figure it out.

And so, they’d been going back and forth almost the entire trip. Zhan Tiri arguing that Varian could create weapons for Corona to fight them with and Cassandra stubbornly defending her case by saying that Varian was “just a kid” and that he “deserves to go home”.

It was exasperating, to say the least.

<}~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~{>

While they waited for Rapunzel to show up with the key, Zhan Tiri showed herself around; noting all the artifacts there and not there, what was labeled incorrectly, what might be useful in the future. 

Suddenly, something caught her eye. A teapot. A very familiar teapot. 

“Well, well,” she said, striding over to it. “I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

She picked up the pink teapot, ignoring the useless, broken teacups, and turned it this way and that, inspecting it for any sign that it was a fake. 

To her surprise, it was authentic; this was the very same teapot Demanitus had made for his mother and Zhan Tiri subsequently cursed. 

The Avian Teapot. 

A smile tugged at her lips. This could come in handy.

<}~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~{>

Zhan Tiri was furious. 

Cassandra had completely disregarded her counsel and let. The boy. Go! When they returned, she’d released him from his cell, taken him to the edge of the forest, given him directions, and simply sent him stumbling on his way! 

The demon growled. It must have been _Rapunzel_.

_She_ must have been what made the Moonstone wielder take action without telling her first. As soon as the Sundrop saw Cassandra, the girl all but got to her knees, begging for the boy’s release. It was disgusting. And, to top it all off, Cassandra was questioning her destiny! Questioning _her_ guidance! 

Zhan Tiri could not let this happen or otherwise, everything would fall apart. She could not allow Cassandra to lose faith and she could not allow Varian to go free.

She glanced at the teapot clenched in her fist. Maybe… 

Cassandra would never allow her to recapture and imprison Varian, but what if she didn’t know it was Varian? And if she was given a reason to believe her destiny could also “help people”, then. . .

Zhan Tiri studied the teapot, thinking hard.

As a plan grew in her mind, a smile grew on her face.

<}~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~{>

Zhan Tiri had to admit, he’d gotten pretty far. Despite being injured, without a horse, and concussed—albeit _very_ mildly—, Varian had managed to make it nearly halfway to the Castle.

But, as she expected, Zhan Tiri had caught up with him easily. Taking him by surprise, she’d quickly incapacitated him out and sat him against a tree. 

Currently, she was stoking the fire she’d started. Once she was satisfied it wouldn’t go out, she reached into the bag she’d brought with her and pulled out a teabag and the Avian Teapot. Quickly locating a conveniently close spring, she filled the teapot and carried it back to the fire. Dropping the teabag inside, she set it among the flickering tongues of burning orange and sat down to wait. 

Eventually, the teapot began to whistle and Zhan Tiri hurried over. Thankful for her thick gloves, she took the teapot out of the fire and set it down on the ground where it could cool.

After a while, she deemed the tea’s temperature safe enough and approached the young alchemist with the teapot. 

Zhan Tiri grinned. Varian really needed to learn how to sleep with his mouth closed.

<}~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~{>

Varian jolted awake. He was almost— home? Wait, what happened?

The little girl! She’d jumped him! Where was she? 

He looked around. Where was _he?_ Varian appeared to be inside some sort of… sack? Except, the fibers of this one were a lot bigger than he remembered most sacks being. It was almost like he was in a bag made of rope! 

Suddenly, he was violently jostled around. Squawking, he started to fall forward and put his hands out to—What happened to his hands?!

He landed on his face, part of which somehow poked _through_ the sack. He kicked around, trying to find purchase, and, eventually, managed to pull his face out, leaving a beam of light to shine through the interior of the sack.

Okay. Okay… Okay. He needs to compartmentalize everything or his brain might just shut down.

So first thing’s first: His shoulder seems to feel better, his bruised ankle doesn’t feel very stiff anymore, and his concussion has apparently been reduced to a minor headache…? Right, that’s a little weird but still a plus, so he’d take what he could get.

Second: His fingers still feel like the deepest, most painful pits of _hell_.

Third: He doesn’t have fingers.

Fourth: He has feathers.

Fifth… Hmm. Varian felt around his face with his…

Fifth: He has wings.

And sixth: He has a beak.

No, nevermind. His brain’s just going to shut down anyway.

And with that magical development, Varian the alchemist, the self-proclaimed “Man of Science”, fainted.

<}~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~{>

Once again, Varian jolted awake in the sack. 

“It wasn’t real, it wasn’t real, it wasn’t real,” Varian reassured himself shakily. But, still, he had to check.

Slowly, he looked down at his hands… 

…To see he had no hands.

Varian felt lightheaded again but roughly shook himself before wincing as pain stabbed through his finge— _wing_.

“Alright, Varian. Alright. This is fine,” he told himself, trying—and failing—not to sound hysterical. “Rapunzel told you about that one time they turned into birds. She said it was great up until…” he trailed off before shaking himself again. “No. This will be fine. You’re fine. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

A beat of silence passed before Varian—trying to find the silver lining—abruptly reminded himself, “Right, so if I’m a bird, then that means I have…” He looked down to see the dim outline of black, scaly, stick-like legs with three sharp talons per foot. “Great! So that means I can tear through the—Whoa!” Suddenly, the sack overturned, unceremoniously dumping him onto the dirt where he landed spread-eagle on his back. He groaned in pain when his hand— er, his _wing_ hit the ground, sending sparks of pain through his… wing. 

Oh, boy, this wasn’t going to get any easier, was it?

“Well, aren’t you a pretty bird?” a sinister voice cooed. 

Varian looked up so fast he thought he might’ve given himself whiplash. The spirit girl stood over him looking… different. She seemed more alive, but, at the same time, somehow more… dead? Demonic was probably a better word for it. 

At her words, he looked down at himself.

And let out a screech that definitely did not sound feminine.

In the dim lighting of the sack, it had felt akin to a dream. Like he could still wake up and everything would be normal. But in the fresh light of the dawn—why did he always regain consciousness so early in the morning?—, the truth was unavoidable. He was a bird. A legitimate, hollow-boned, stick-legged, feathered, beaked, taloned… 

Bird.

And he did not appreciate it in the slightest.

His chest was a pale sapphire blue that got richer and darker as it down led to his long, black speckled tail feathers. Black, scaly legs were splayed out in the air from when he fell out of the sack. His wings were stretched out on either side of him; the feathers, he noticed, on undersides of them were black, as were his shoulders and what he could see of his beak if he crossed his eyes. Varian lifted his right wing off the ground and saw the back of it was a vibrant shade of cerulean blue with thin black stripes going down each feather perpendicular to the shaft.

He glanced at his left wing, expecting the same beautiful pattern, and was shocked to see his primary feathers were grotesquely mangled. From his wrist—do birds even have wrists?—to the end of his wing, the entire thing was crumpled like a rejected ball of paper. 

A strangled noise escaped Varian’s throat and a peculiar feeling of sorrow overcame him. He wasn’t even going to be able to fly while he was stuck like this. He was earth-bound. It was strange, up until this moment, he hadn’t even considered that one day he’d actually be able to fly—excluding the Saporian’s balloons; those don’t technically “fly” so much as “float quickly in a predetermined direction”—, but now that he’d been given the opportunity, only to have it ripped away… it felt like something in him had died.

Or maybe that was all just the bird instincts talking… 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

This was working splendidly!

Zhan Tiri watched with interest as Varian studied his new form. He seemed rather heartbroken when he discovered that his broken fingers had translated into his wing during the transformation. It was honestly pitiful. He couldn’t fly before, so why did it matter if he couldn’t fly now?

Zhan Tiri shook her head with an exasperated sigh. The noise seemed to remind Varian of her presence and he looked up at her, his wide, light blue eyes filling with fear. The demon noted with vague interest that his irises had remained the same and, additionally, the streak of blue on his otherwise black crest matched that odd stripe in his hair. His freckles also seemed to have transferred to his new avian body in the form of small white speckles splashed across his face.

“What did you do to me?” he asked timidly, his small voice cracking. 

Zhan Tiri clucked her tongue. “Ah, I forgot you could still speak,” she said. Her brow furrowed and she added, “And I suppose, if you can speak, you can probably still read and write… Well, that can be easily remedied.” 

Varian’s eyes widened and he attempted to scramble away. Though all he managed to accomplish was flopping to the side, unused to the new proportions and weight distribution. She chuckled and stooped down, picking up the boy’s light, fragile body with both hands.

“While my magic might not be as strong right now, I can still perform simple spells,” she told him, smiling wider when she saw he was now too terrified to even struggle.

Chanting in a low voice, she began weaving a spell to prevent Varian from being able to speak, read, or write. An aura of purple lit up around the bird in her hands and she could feel his delicate frame tense beneath her fingers. 

As soon as she finished the spell and the purple glow faded, Varian slumped, his blue eyes fluttering. Zhan Tiri took a deep breath to recompose herself and adjust to the loss of energy resulting from the spell. She felt Varian’s heartbeat pick up beneath her palms and focused back on him.

“Well, Varian, how do you feel?” she asked, trying to keep the grin off her face.

Varian slowly looked up at her, his eyes wide and his breathing uneven. He could already tell something was different. Zhan Tiri allowed the smile to slice across her face; she wouldn’t have expected anything less from one so similar to old Demanitus. 

He opened his beak but didn’t make any noise. He was afraid, she realized gleefully. Afraid of what might _not_ come out of his mouth. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian squeezed his eyes shut, and, with all the timidity of a rabbit, said, “Hello?” 

But that wasn’t what came out of his mouth.

Instead, two haunting notes sounded from his throat. 

Varian’s breath stuttered to a halt.

A single tear leaked out of his eye.

The girl let out a delighted laugh that sounded like screeching metal in comparison to the two beautiful and damning notes that became the harbingers of Varian’s despair.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

This was perfect! Now that Varian would be unable to alert Cassandra of his true self, she could put her plan into motion.

All she needed to do now was find a place to deposit the bird where Cassandra could find and rescue him. 

The wielder of the Moonstone was losing faith in her destiny. She was beginning to believe that what she was doing was “wrong” because all she had accomplished thus far was “hurting people”. So, it was left to Zhan Tiri to show her that her powers could “help” and all that. It was really quite tedious, but it would all be worth it in the end.

And it was a win-win: Zhan Tiri could keep an eye on Varian until she could determine whether or not he was worth keeping around for future use, and she could keep Cassandra on track and too preoccupied to look too closely at Zhan Tiri’s movements.

The demon regarded Varian critically, thinking about where she could put him. An idea struck her and she stuffed Varian back in the bag, to which he let out a startled trill before going silent. In the back of her mind, she noticed that it was the same notes he’d released before. She glanced up, checking the position of the sun.

It was still very early in the morning, Cassandra would soon be going on her morning walk—“patrol” as the woman liked to call it. Hurrying toward the tower, Zhan Tiri quickly located the path she knew Cassandra took and began searching out a place that would suit her needs.

After a little while, she found a large, dead branch just barely hanging onto the rest of the tree. She pulled Varian back out of the sack—he didn’t make noise this time, instead, allowing himself to be manhandled with limp apathy—and hid in the undergrowth to wait and listen. 

The moment she heard the distant sound of Cassandra’s light, practiced steps treading softly down the trail, she muttered a small spell. A deafening _crack!_ sounded through the trees as the spell took hold of the branch and broke it off of the trunk. As soon as the crash of the limb hitting the ground echoed through the forest, she grabbed Varian’s injured wing between her fingers and _squeezed_.

The _thrilling_ crunch of tiny bones grinding together was followed by a wild, piercing shriek of pain. At the sound, Zhan Tiri let go of the now struggling bird’s wing, murmured a quick spell to lift the branch slightly, and shoved Varian underneath it.

When she released the branch and it fell back down onto Varian’s wing, he screamed again, the trill of agony sounding strangely human. She shivered in delight as the sound sang through her ears.

Suddenly, she could hear the thump of armored feet behind her, and Zhan Tiri smiled triumphantly before disappearing into the trees to watch from the shadows.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra needed to think. Her destiny was to take revenge on Rapunzel for stealing her mother away… Right? She took the Moonstone to achieve that destiny, not to hurt people… But all she’d done with her new powers so far _was_ hurt people: Rapunzel, Eugene, and Varian most of all. She wished she could just… But her destiny. . . But she never wanted to. . . . 

No matter how she spun it, she couldn’t keep the doubt and apprehension from creeping into her thoughts.

So she took a walk. But then, even that was interrupted. 

A crash and a scream of pain rang through the forest, jolting Cassandra out of her spiraling internal conflicts.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins in time with her pounding heart as she automatically sprinted toward the noises. Another scream rang through the trees and she pushed herself to go faster, leaping over logs and ducking under branches. 

She almost ran past it but caught sight of the broken branch out of the corner of her eye. Backpedaling, she went over the massive fallen branch—it must have been at least as thick as her thigh, if not, thicker—, and, to her immense surprise, she realized it was a bird that had been screaming.

Its beautiful black and blue plumage was fluffed out and dirty as it writhed on the ground. Its right wing flapped and its little legs struggled against the dirt as it attempted to free its left wing from beneath the branch. Its small, black beak opened and closed as it trilled and warbled in pain and panic.

She approached it slowly, cautiously, her hands held out in front of her. After a thought, she also removed the armor from her hands, pulling the black rock back to meld with her bracers.

“Shh, shh,” she cooed softly, trying to get it to calm down some. At the sound of her voice, the bird stilled and she could see its little chest heaving with exertion.

Though Cassandra knew that it was just frozen in fear, she figured it was the best she would get. Moving a little quicker, she braced her hands beneath the thick branch and pushed up with her knees. It shifted slightly, making the bird panic again, but otherwise, the limb didn’t move. Furrowing her brow in concentration, she tried again. This time, the branch didn’t even budge a centimeter. 

Sweat broke out on her forehead as she heaved, but, after a moment, Cassandra straightened, huffing in frustration. The bird’s screams shrilled through her skull, making her pinch the bridge of her nose.

“Will you shut up? I’m trying to help you!” she burst out, and, amazingly, the bird went silent. She gave it a confused glance but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

“Right,” she muttered, turning back to the problem. “Hmm… Maybe I could…” she trailed off, thinking aloud as a potential solution popped into her head.

Experimentally, she raised a hand and slowly called forth a column of black rocks. She saw the bird flinch violently when the rock broke through the soil, so she slowed it’s growth even further, trying her best not to scare the bird into struggling more. 

As the rock moved upwards, it pushed on the branch, gradually lifting it off the injured limb. The moment it was free, the bird started pulling itself out from under the branch with its uninjured wing.

Cassandra released her hold on the rocks, letting the blue light fade to black, and looked back at the bird where it had gone limp on the ground, breathing heavily in audible little squeaks. It reminded her almost comically of Pasca—

Nevermind.

Now that it was free and she could get a good look at it, she realized with astonishment that it was Steller’s Jay.

“Well, you’re a long way from home aren’t you, little guy?” she said crouching down a little ways away from it so as not to agitate the injured creature. “I thought Steller’s jays were only native to the Dark Kingdom.”

To her surprise, the bird didn’t startle away from her as she expected, instead, it turned its head and contemplated her cynically with unusual light blue eyes. 

Its gaze was unsettlingly familiar, but Cassandra couldn’t quite seem to place it.

Regardless, she edged toward the bird, her every movement taken with great caution. The Steller’s jay observed her approach with unnervingly knowing eyes before abruptly closing them and laying its head down.

At this, she hurried the rest of the way to the small form, dropping onto her knees next to it. The bird opened its eyes again to look at her, but—to her immense puzzlement—only seemed to sigh before closing them once more. Deciding to just accept it for the moment, Cassandra hesitantly touched a finger to the bird’s back. It flinched and she whipped her hand back to her chest, but that was all the bird did. Releasing a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding, Cassandra ever-so-carefully picked up the bird with both hands. It was a lot lighter and, if its general size was anything to go by, quite a bit younger than Owl had been.

Cassandra winced inwardly at the reminder of her avian companion. She hadn’t seen Owl since she took the Moonstone and it still hurt to think that her oldest friend had abandoned her.

When it didn’t try anything, Cassandra held the bird up in front of her, wanting to inspect its damaged wing, but not daring to try and touch it. She had to hold in a gasp when she saw the state of its crumpled primaries and broken bones. The poor thing probably wouldn’t ever be able to fly again… 

Cassandra felt a pang of unexplainable guilt and frowned in confusion. It wasn’t her fault the bird was injured, she was the one who saved it!

The Steller’s jay shifted in her hands and she refocused on it. Carefully, she readjusted her hold to cradle it against her chest, making sure she wasn’t touching its injured wing. 

“What do you say you come back to the tower with me, huh?” she asked it as she started back to the trail, trying to walk as smoothly as possible so as not to jostle the exhausted bird too roughly. “How does that sound?”

The bird cracked open it’s light blue eyes and trilled softly at her before closing them again. 

Cassandra allowed a soft smile to grace her face. The expression felt stiff and dusty from disuse, but it was no less genuine. She had been able to use the Moonstone for the good of another! Cassandra found herself smiling wider at the thought.

Her destiny didn’t have to hurt, it could help too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clear up some stuff, Zhan Tiri doesn't use the cloak to turn into Calliope in this, I felt like Raps and Eugene would've gotten to the Spire well enough without her.
> 
> And my "headcanon", so to speak, is that turning into a bird got rid of, or at least reduced the extent of, Varian's more minor injuries (eg the post-dislocated shoulder, the bruised ankle, and the mild concussion—not that any concussion isn't serious, it just wasn't very important to the story sooo... yeah, it had to go). But, regardless, that's why really only his fingers are still injured.
> 
> If anyone was wondering, birds _can_ cry. They have tear ducts and everything, but crying isn't an avian response to pain, so they don't ever really “cry” unless they have something in their eyes. Birds also have phalanges ("finger bones") just as humans do, only their's are fused together. So, following this, I translated Varian's broken fingers to his wing rather than, say, his foot.
> 
> Also, yes, Zhan Tiri is a bit more... violent *cough*sadistic*cough* in this story than she is in the show, but that's just how she wrote herself in. ;)
> 
> _Also_ , I have only watched the RTA episodes with Varian in it plus a few others, so I have no idea what Owl does in season 3. But, for the sake of this story, I'm going to say that he stayed with Rapunzel the whole time.
> 
> Comments, kudos, suggestions, feedback, etc are all greatly appreciated!
> 
> EDIT:   
> GUYS, I GOT FANART!!! :DDD
> 
> I wanted to imbed it in the chapter, but I’m doing all the actual posting on my phone and the writing on a dinky chrome book so it wouldn’t let me. :’(  
> But anyways, this absolutely awesome art is by Vanitatum! And, Vanitatum, if you’re reading this, I just want to thank you again for the wonderful art!!!
> 
> (Just copy and paste the link)  
> https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/680470491563032585/808401962277535804/Varian_Stellers_Jay2.png


	6. Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "'We just want to bring Varian home!'  
>  _Varian?_ She released him yesterday... An icy pit of fear formed in Cassandra's stomach."  
> . . . .  
> "Every time the Steller's jay made a noise, it was always the same tune. And it was unsettlingly familiar… Like a dusty, old music box... Her eyes widened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me, like, over three hours to go through and edit this (for the second time, might I add), and the whole time I felt like I was doing a character study.
> 
> Also, Rapunzel shows up again! But, at the same time, not really... She's only there for a little while. Rapunzel _will_ have a bigger role in the coming chapters, _but_ I have decided, officially, that this story will be primarily about Cass and Varian, not Cass, Varian, _and_ Rapunzel as it was originally supposed to be. Sorry.
> 
> Anyways... Enjoy!

Rapunzel and Eugene were on their way to the tower. 

The little girl informed Cassandra of the princess and her boyfriend’s imminent arrival the moment she stepped through the threshold of the tower with the injured bird in her arms. The former ghost gave the Steller’s jay a curious look, but, otherwise, didn’t comment on it, something Cassandra was grateful for. She wasn’t in the mood for another lecture on the weakness of emotional attachments. 

At the sound of the girl’s voice, the bird had gone as stiff as the dead, pressing himself—she’d determined that, despite his small size, he was too big to be a female for his species—against her. She frowned at him but disregarded it as simply being a reaction to the stranger. 

Cassandra gave the girl a curt nod and asked if she knew what they wanted, but the former spirit only shook her head and shrugged. Sighing resignedly, Cassandra turned and resumed heading up the stairs, leaving the girl in the foyer. 

Once she got to her room, Cassandra bent over to set the bird down on her bed before straightening to study its injured wing. The Steller’s jay looked this way and that, taking in his surroundings, before tentatively lowering himself to sit on her blankets. At first, he held his damaged wing awkwardly in the air, away from his body as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. After a moment, though, he laid it down next to him, visibly wincing as the crumpled feathers and broken bones settled upon the blankets.

Again, that strange guilt gnawed at the edge of her consciousness, but she pushed it away for the time being, she had other things to worry about. Focusing on the bird, she went back to examining his mangled left wing, studying the fractured shafts of his primary feathers and the crushed bones at the end of the appendage.

After a few minutes, she sighed, coming to the same conclusion as she had in the forest: there was no fixing an injury of that severity, he would never fly again. Without even thinking about it, she reached down to stroke his black and blue crest with two fingers as she always did with Owl whenever he needed comfort. It took her a moment to realize what she was doing, but as soon as she did, she froze, casting a tentative glance at the Steller’s jay. 

The bird in question had relaxed into a content ball of black and blue feathers—minus the wing that was still resting stiffly at his side. His blue eyes were half-lidded, but the moment her fingers stopped moving, he refocused, looking up at her, before also going rigid. Funnily enough, he made a chirring noise during the resulting awkward silence that sounded like an embarrassed cough.

She relaxed, chuckling at his self-consciousness, as the bird shook himself out before laying back down, his crest standing straight up while he attempted to recompose himself. Turning around, Cassandra headed toward her food storage—which was basically just a dent in the wall that had shelves in it—and began picking through its meager contents. Finding something she thought the Steller’s jay could eat, she pivoted on her heel and returned to the bed only to see the bird splayed out limply on his stomach with his little, scaly feet sticking out behind him.

She raised an amused eyebrow. “Really?”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian was done moving.

He was officially never moving again.

Cassandra had _pet him_! As if he were, well, a pet! And he’d liked it?! But, at the same time, it had been so comforting, which was something he hadn’t felt since he’d been kidnapped…

But that was beside the point! 

And anyways, his brain needed time to process the absolutely horrible past two days he’d been having. 

It had started out great: Cassandra had released him, he hadn’t been attacked by anything, and he was going to go home and see his dad, and Ruddiger, and Eugene, and Rapunzel! 

And then that _loathsome_ little girl turned him into a _bird_ and dropped a tree on him! And to put the bright red cherry on top of that wonderful cake of misery, she took away his voice and apparently also his ability to read and write! So now he has no way of telling Cassandra who he is, and she’ll just go on thinking he’s only an injured bird!

This was officially the second-worst day of his life. Although depending on how everything continued to play out, he might just consider making this _the_ worst day of his life. Because at least before he’d been able to do something about his position, despite how… unsavory his actions were.

Yeah, Varian was so utterly _done_.

And so, to protest his predicament, he’s never going to move again.

But that nut is starting to look really good… And he hasn’t eaten in… his stomach gurgled loudly. Before he knew it, he was standing up—albeit very clumsily as he still wasn’t used to this new body—and snatching the nut from Cassandra’s fingers. After gobbling it down before he could even taste it, a contented warble escaped his throat.

Cassandra released a startled laugh of delight the likes of which Varian hadn’t heard in… well, a long time. He looked up at her face and noticed that she seemed more relaxed, more at ease, than he’d seen her since… probably since that time after the science fair when he’d given her the Cassandrium necklace. The thought made his heart ache for the woman he once thought he’d known, regardless of what she’d put him through these past few days.

As if to remind him, his wing twinged painfully and he winced, doing his best to restrain himself from curling his wing to his body as he knew that would only make it hurt more. 

When that girl—that absolute _demon_ —had squeezed his wing, he’d thought he was going to pass out again. His vision had whited out and everything had gone fuzzy with agony, the only thing he’d been aware of was the torturous crunch and grind of broken bones beneath a cruel, unrelenting grip. 

Suffice to say, he didn’t think he’d ever regain the use of his fingers… 

That is if he ever became human again… 

He let out a soft, despondent sigh and looked down at his feet. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra heard the bird sigh quietly and she looked at his crumpled wing again as if she believed something might miraculously change through the sheer force of her will. 

Alas, it remained crushed and irreparable. The Steller’s jay would be crippled and therefore earthbound for life. If Cassandra hadn’t found him, he would’ve surely died. And even if he’d managed to free himself from underneath the branch, he still would’ve been easy pickings for the many predators lurking in the woods.

Again, that strange guilt made itself known as it sat heavy in her stomach and she scowled. Why on earth did she feel guilty? It wasn’t her fault he was crippled! She _saved_ him!

“Cassandra!”

A shout from below her window startled her so badly she jumped and nearly ended up swatting the bird off of the bed.

He chattered in irritation and she had to laugh, his annoyance was kind of adorable. But her amusement was quickly drowned in anger as another shout drifted up to her.

“Cass _an_ dra!” 

A glower settled on her face and she turned to the window, stalking out onto the balcony.

She sneered down at the Princess of Corona and the Captain of the Guards. “Why hello, Princess!” she called in mock-politeness before simply dropping all pretenses entirely. “What do you want?”

The blonde looked up at the balcony where she stood, lifting an arm to keep the sun out of her eyes, before shouting up to Cassandra, “We just want to bring Varian home!”

_Varian?_

Why do they want _Varian?_ She let him go yesterday, had he not made it back? An icy pit of fear formed in her stomach, but she pushed it down before it could show on her face.

“I released Varian yesterday, sure he didn't get lost in the woods?" she drawled down to them smoothly, almost hating how unconcerned her voice sounded. The Steller’s jay squawked behind her and she glanced back to see him now perched on her bedpost, listening.

Disregarding him, she looked back down at Rapunzel and Eugene, both of whom had varying degrees of suspicion and worry on their faces. Rapunzel turned to Eugene and said a few things that Cassandra couldn’t quite make out before looking back up at her expectantly. 

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “What, he’s not back yet?” she asked, sounding insouciant, but, again, feeling disgusted with herself for it. 

“No, he’s not back yet!” Eugene burst out suddenly, his voice angry and accusing. “And if you don’t let him go, we’ll—!”

“Eugene!” Rapunzel cut him off sternly. She said something to him again and he gave Cassandra a dark look to which she countered with a smirk that always used to get under his skin. 

As expected, Eugene’s face purpled and he went to raise his fist at her before Rapunzel put a hand on his chest and appeared to reassert whatever she’d told him before. Eugene searched the princess’s face for a moment, his mouth opened seemingly to argue, before he huffed, crossing his arms and looking away. 

Appearing to be appeased, Rapunzel looked back up at Cassandra, who was suddenly struggling to keep her worry for Varian from showing.

She’d thought she’d done the right thing, letting Varian go, but—

_What if you condemned him to his death? You sent him out into a dark forest at sunset. You sent him out alone. You sent him out with no supplies. You sent him out while he was injured. He probably got attacked and killed by bandits or a wild animal. And you know what? You’re the one who sent him out there, so it would be all. Your. Faul—_

Her spiral of guilt was interrupted by a loud trill of pain behind her. She started and whipped around to see the Steller’s jay lying spread-eagle on the ground at the foot of her bed. He must have tried to glide down but overestimated the integrity of his broken wing and fallen. Forgetting Rapunzel and Eugene, she hurried over to his dazed form, picking him up to cradle him against her front. 

“You all right?” she asked the bird worriedly. He looked up at her, his blue eyes blinking slowly, before roughly shaking his head as if to clear it.

“Cassandra?” Rapunzel’s voice called up again.

Oh, yeah. Rapunzel was here. Right. 

She returned to the balcony with the Steller’s jay still in her arms and shouted impatiently down to the princess, “Rapunzel, I don’t know where he is! I let Varian go yesterday! I sent him toward the castle, it’s not my fault if he got lost!” Resolutely forcing down the worry in her chest, Cassandra turned away from the window and strode back inside. 

As she placed the bird back on her bed, he perked up and whistled at her.

Pulled away from her thoughts, she frowned at him. “Why do you always sing the same thing?” she asked. Every time he made a noise, it was always the same tune. And it was unsettlingly familiar… 

The bird seemed to shrug at her and opened his beak to sing. Once again, it was the same melody… It was honestly kind of creepy, like a dusty, old music box… 

Her eyes widened as she remembered where she’d heard it before.

It was the song from Varian’s automatons. The exact same haunting melody they always played whenever they were on. She didn’t know how she’d ever forgotten their unnerving tune.

“Were you there?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking him, despite knowing there was no way he understood what she was talking about. The bird stopped singing and gave her a look that was unfamiliar to Cassandra. His light blue eyes seemed almost… _regretful_. 

Cassandra shook herself. What did a bird have to be regretful for? Nonetheless, she found her gaze drawn back to where sad, weary eyes regarded her with a look of helplessness and remorse.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian recognized the melody. 

He wondered if the girl had somehow done this on purpose, cursed him to forever repeat the song that only reminded him of grief and misery. 

He found himself remembering that fateful day when he’d unleashed his automatons upon the guards, and Rapunzel, and Eugene, and _Cassie_. He remembered how she’d struggled within his metal fist, how he’d tried to crush the life out of her… and part of him wondered… was this retribution? Was this punishment for what he’d done? For all the pain and anguish he’d caused? And, if it was, he wondered, would be enough to atone for his crimes? Would it be enough to offset all the… the _evil_ he’d inflicted upon his kingdom? 

Rapunzel had told him that he’d been through enough, that he’d been forgiven for all his wrongdoings. But, no matter what she said, even the beloved Princess of Corona couldn’t stop the stares, the whispers, the accusations. Even after what he’d done during the scare with the red rocks, even after he’d proven that he’d changed… the stares continued. The whispers continued. The accusations continued. And the worst part was… they were right. They were right to be watchful. They were right to impart caution to their peers. They were right to question him. They were right to _hate_ him. They were suspicious of him before and then he’d given them probable cause. It didn’t matter what—

“Cassandra, please!” Another shout drifted into the room from the balcony, and Varian found himself acting without thinking—which honestly surprised him, he never did that. He jumped down from the bed, instinctively flaring out his wings to catch the air before pulling the left one back in with a chirp of pain. Somehow, he still managed to land on his feet and he took off toward the balcony. 

His mind was going a mile a minute. Rapunzel was out there! She might be able to help him! And he could’ve sworn he’d heard Eugene out there too! If he could get to them, maybe they could—

His thoughts were cut off when a pair of hands caught him. He almost bit them before roughly shaking off the urge, reminding himself harshly that he was _not_ an animal. 

“Nope!” Cassandra said with false brightness as she lifted him up. “We’re not going to indulge them. Instead, we’re going to ignore them until they leave.”

Varian looked at her incredulously as she snapped her fingers and made a wall of rock slide up in front of the balcony, blocking out Rapunzel’s pleas. 

“Are you serious?” he said in exasperation before remembering that she couldn’t understand him. He winced when the only sound that came out of his throat was another trill.

She set him back down on the bed “You don’t get it,” she told him as if explaining something to an animal— Wait. Oh yeah. Right.

“They’re not good people,” she continued and he had to hold back a squawk of protest. “They just take and take and take. And they never recognize you or appreciate everything you do for them, and they just—” She broke off, looking down at him. “Why am I trying to explain this to a bird?” she asked herself, and this time, Varian let himself squawk at her.

Cassandra laughed before sitting down next to him and giving him a side-long glance. “You know, you need a name,” she said suddenly.

What? But his name was… 

Right, she didn’t know that… 

Varian sighed at the reminder.

“I’m thinking I’ll probably just keep it practical and call you ‘Bird’ or ‘Jay’ or something,” she continued. Varian whipped his head up to look at her with an affronted shrill. If he was going to be stuck as a bird for Demanitus knows how long, then he did not want to be called “Jay”, much less “ _Bird_ ”! 

At his offended expression, Cassandra laughed again. “Alright, I take it you don’t like those. Naming isn’t really my thing, believe it or not.”

Varian only huffed and rolled his eyes. 

“Hmm, maybe I can look through some books to get some ideas…” Cassandra trailed off, standing up to cross the room. She went over to the black rock desk jutting out of the wall upon which two map books sat open. She picked them up and brought the heavy books over to the bed where she sat back down and began flipping through them. 

Curious, Varian hopped over and started scanning the pages as well, most of them were—obviously—maps, but a few of them were filled with various sequences of strange symbols.

It hit Varian like an exploding beaker of Flynnoleum.

Those weren’t just symbols, those were _letters_. 

Letters he should be able to read. 

Suddenly, he felt overwhelmed by the urge to cry. 

He’d learned how to read when he was _three_. And now he couldn’t. In the blink of an eye, he just… couldn’t read anymore. All of a sudden, it was like a part of what made Varian _Varian_ was gone. If he couldn’t read, he couldn’t write, and if he couldn’t read or write, then he couldn’t calculate equations, and if he couldn’t—

“Winzig!” Cassandra exclaimed, startling him out of his depressed thoughts. She gestured to some symbols—letters, his brain reminded him sadly—and said with a smile, “I like it, it suits you. Winzig is the name of a little town in the Dark Kingdom,” she explained, pointing to a small marking on the map adorning the previous page. And then, watching him out of the corner of her eye, Cassandra added, “It also means tiny.” 

At his insulted warble, she gave him a cheeky grin, but apparently, “Winzig” was there to stay.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra waited for roughly an hour before heading back out of the tower. After basically giving Rapunzel the silent treatment, she wasn’t sure how long the princess would stick around, how long it would take for the idea that _Cassandra didn’t have Varian_ to get through her thick skull.

She winced at the thought of the alchemist, alone and injured, lost in the woods. _He could be dead for all you know. It would be your fault too. You’re the one who hurt him. You dislocated his shoulder, you broke his fingers, you almost crushed his ankle, you, you, you, you! Your fault! It’s your fault! All your—_

She crushed her doubts as quickly as they came. She didn’t have time to search for Varian; Eugene and the Princess would find him well enough on their own. 

She had a destiny to fulfill.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian was perched silently on Cassandra’s shoulder as she walked the perimeter of her tower. If he had to guess, he’d say she was checking to make sure Rapunzel was gone, but she hadn’t said anything when she’d offered him her arm and let him settle on her shoulder, so he couldn’t be sure.

Suddenly, the light of the midafternoon sun was reflected into his eyes, blinding him. Chirruping in discomfort, he raised his uninjured wing to block the intrusive glare, but before he did, he caught sight of the reflective culprit beaming at him from beneath a pile of rubble. 

Curious, he whistled in Cassandra’s ear and fluffed out his crest to get her attention. 

“What is it, Ow—” She cut herself off before giving him an apologetic look. “Sorry, I used to have another bird friend named Owl.”

“I know, I remember him. He sometimes hung out with me and Ruddiger in the Demanitus Chamber,” Varian told her, though all that came out was another chitter of the automaton melody. 

Cassandra flinched minutely at the tune before flashing him a sheepish grin. “You know, Winzig, we really gotta teach you another song.” 

Varian huffed. “It’s not my fault,” he warbled. “Go talk to your sadistic little friend about it cause, believe it or not, I don’t like it any more than you do.” The melody ended on a slightly frustrated pitch, emphasizing his indignation.

“All right, all right, I get it,” Cassandra appealed, raising her hands in surrender. “You like your song, it’s fine.” 

Varian barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Barely. Instead, he settled for shaking his head in resignation.

“Right, so what was it you wanted to show me?” she asked, getting back on track.

Remembering the little circle of light, Varian perked up. Fluffing out his crest, he gestured with his wing towards the pile of rubble, but the circle of light disappeared as the sun was covered by some clouds. Cassandra squinted at the debris before walking over to it. She bent down and, taking the opportunity, Varian hopped off her shoulder and started picking through the wreckage, looking for the reflective circle.

After a few moments, Cassandra stood back up and glanced over to where he was weaving between the cracked wooden boards and broken cobblestones, still searching. 

“What are we looking for again?” she asked. 

Varian didn’t look up, continuing to root around, and instead simply chirped at her. Just then, the sun came back out and shone down on the pile of wreckage, once more reflecting off of the little circle.

“There it is!” Varian trilled in triumph, hopping over to it. As he got closer, he noticed that it seemed to be some sort of lens. It was cracked, though, and heavily scratched. 

Cassandra, seeing where he was headed, straightened and walked over to it in two long strides. She crouched down in front of it as Varian finally managed to reach them on his ridiculously tiny legs.

“My goggles!” he trilled in delighted surprise. “I thought I’d lost them in the explosion at the top of the tower! They must have gotten caught in the debris and landed here.” He hopped over to where they were half-buried under the rocks and began trying to pull them out with his uninjured wing before realizing that wasn’t going to cut it. 

“Cassandra,” he chirped, looking up at the woman. “A little help here, please?” 

Cassandra didn’t move, she was staring vacantly at the goggles as though lost in a memory. Her expression was sad and—dare he say it—almost regretful. 

“Cassandra?” he repeated softly, abandoning the goggles and hopping back over to her. Seeming to break free of her trance, Cassandra focused her eyes on him and he gave her a little chirr. 

“I’m good, Winzig,” she reassured him. “Just got… nostalgic.” She gave him a small, very fake smile and rubbed her eyes roughly. 

Wait.

Was she _crying?_

Wait.

 _Cassandra_ was crying?

About what? Varian was dumbstruck. Never, in all his life, had he ever expected to _ever_ see _Cassandra_ , of all people, _cry_.

Out of nowhere, she snatched the goggles out of the rubble. “Those are Varian’s,” she told him abruptly.

“I know!” he wanted to scream. This was torture! He was _right there_ , but they just didn’t know! Cassandra, Rapunzel, Eugene, they were all looking for him, or thinking about him, or talking about him, or _something_ , and he was right _there!_

Varian was right there and they just didn’t know it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pulled a sneaky on ya with the chapter summary, didn't I? You probably thought it was the tune from Cass's music box... or maybe you knew all along and I'm just kidding myself. ;)
> 
> Yeah, I know the explanation for how Cass determined that Varian was a boy was really weak, but female and male Steller's jays look the same, so it was the best I could come up with.
> 
> I hope the, albeit very short, confrontation between Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cass turned out all right! I was going for like a "stiff conversation between former friends about a sort-of mutual friend" vibe if that makes any sense. I know it was extremely stilted, but I wrote it like that on purpose.  
> In a perfect world, Cass would team up with Rapunzel and Eugene to find Varian b/c she would still feel guilty about hurting him on her quest for destiny and then abandoning him. Buuuut, since this isn't a perfect world and Cass feels like she's already more or less reconciled with herself about her destiny after saving Winzig, she's trying to cut Rapunzel off so she doesn't get dragged into searching for Varian and can continue fulfilling her destiny.  
> So yeah, I'm not sure if it came off that way, but I figured I'd sort of clarify everything down here either way.
> 
> Also! I’d like to thank Caslo for the name Winzig! It’s so adorable! (And I know that technically, cause it’s German, you don’t pronounce it “Win-zig”, but that’s just how I personally say it for the story sooooo... yeah idk).
> 
> Comments, kudos, constructive criticism, and the like are all highly appreciated!


	7. Accusations & Revelations Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "As Cassandra approached the dilapidated cottage, she couldn’t help the trepidation making her feet drag across the ground and her arms feel like lead weights slowing her down."  
> . . . .  
> "Cassandra suddenly called forth several large spikes of glowing black rocks and Varian flinched violently at the sight as an onslaught of painful memories started filling his head."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, this chapter's long so it took forever to go through and edit, and, alas, life (and stinky washing machines) sucked up a lot of my free time this weekend.  
> And since this chapter just kept getting longer and longer, I’m having to split it into three parts (each part should be about 3k-5k words), so I also needed to make sure everything fit together and corresponded properly before I could post anything.
> 
> I swear my family must hate me cause all I ever wanna do nowadays is write fanfiction. XD
> 
> These next three chapters follow "A Tale of Two Sisters", so a lot of the dialogue, actions, etc are directly from the episode minus the obvious changes I made to fit my story.
> 
> Also,  
> POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING:  
> PTSD-like flashbacks and mild panic attacks. (I figured I'd put this here just in case, but it's not really bad or anything).
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy!

“Did ya hear Old Lady Gothel’s ghost is hauntin’ that abandoned cottage up in the mountains?”

Cassandra went deathly still. Winzig cooed softly in concern from where he was perched on her left shoulder. Distracted, she held her finger to her lips, forgetting that the Steller’s jay wasn’t Owl and therefore didn’t understand hand signals.

However, miraculously, he went silent, though Cassandra wasn’t paying attention. Instead, she was peering through the undergrowth as two men ambled down the dirt road at a leisurely pace.

“Are you serious?” the other man asked the first one in a disbelieving voice.

“Yeah, Matthew’s boy came home screamin’ ‘bout it last night.” 

“Right, and we both know the word of a ten-year-old boy is always honest.”

“I know, I know…” the man trailed off, looking away, before picking back up again, “But ya shoulda seen him. He was white as a sheet and stutterin’ so bad he could barely speak!”

The second man laughed. “He probably just ran into a tree in the dark and scared himself silly then!” 

The first man made a disgruntled noise of protest before going silent. 

“Come on, if we wanna get back to the village before dark, then we best pick up the pace,” the second man reminded the other as he began walking a little faster. The other man grumbled under his breath, but, nevertheless, hurried to catch up with his companion.

Cassandra remained frozen in the bushes. 

He’d said “Gothel”... That must mean her _mother_ , Gothel... And a ghost? Haunting an abandoned cottage in the mountains… Could that be her and Mother’s old home?

Cassandra was half-tempted to chase after the man and demand that he tell her everything. But perhaps there was a quicker way to do things… 

Winzig chirped questioningly in her ear, jolting her back into reality, and she reached up to stroke his crest fondly. Despite this being only the day after she’d first rescued him, there were times when she felt as though she’d known the Steller’s jay for a lot longer.

“Sorry, Winzig,” she told him, her gaze drifting to the mountains thoughtfully as she continued running her fingers over the bird’s silky feathers. “It looks like we’re gonna hafta take a slight detour, so I don’t think we’ll be able to finish our supply run today.”

Winzig gave her an indifferent chirp, and Cassandra smiled, glad that he didn’t mind.

Although the former-spirit girl had been the one to recommend Cassandra go restock their provisions, complaining about their “pitiful food stores” and the fact that she “couldn’t help Cassandra take over a kingdom on an empty stomach”, she’d also subtly pointed out that they didn’t have much in the way of bird food, which was primarily what convinced Cassandra to go. 

But even with their shortage, she still had enough nuts to keep Winzig satisfied for another day or two and the former-spirit had spent who knows how long without actually needing food to sustain herself, so she could deal with an empty stomach for a little while. 

_This_ , however, required her attention _now_.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

As Cassandra approached the dilapidated cottage, she couldn’t help the trepidation making her feet drag across the ground and her arms feel like lead weights slowing her down. 

Only a meager four feet from the cottage, she found herself stopping and simply staring at her old home. It was obviously very different from the memory the girl had shown her, she’d expected that, but she hadn’t been prepared for just _how_ different it would be. 

The quaint little cottage she remembered had always been well-kept, always polished to perfection; a sign of Cassandra’s devotion to her beloved mother. But, it seemed, time had not been as kind.

The once-pristine wood paneling was faded and grey with dirt and age, the sturdy oak boards rotted and crumbling. The windows were all cracked and broken, if not missing entirely, leaving jagged, gaping holes in the walls like the toothy maws of some many-mouthed beast. The roof now looked more brown than red and it must have caved in at some point as several craters decorated the top of the cottage like battle scars from years of fighting against the elements. Green tangles of ivy grew in thick, cheerful swathes around the rickety building; as though the earth itself was attempting to smother the house. The entire structure seemed to sigh at her, as if, because she had finally returned, it could now rest from its decades-long war against time.

It sounded like a death rattle. 

Winzig warbled encouragingly in her ear, startling Cassandra out of her morbid thoughts. She took a deep breath and pasted on a small smile that she hoped didn’t look as nervous as she felt. Releasing a quiet exhale to ease the tension in her shoulders, Cassandra took a step forward. 

And froze.

The cottage door was hanging open, and a voice suddenly drifted out of the old structure.

A very familiar voice.

“ _Rapunzel_ ,” she growled under her breath as fury rose from deep within her. Winzig gave a surprised chitter and straightened up on her shoulder, peering around, but she barely noticed him as she roughly pulled up the hood of her cloak. 

Rapunzel was not allowed to be here. This home had been for Cassandra and _her_ mother alone! Rapunzel didn’t get to be where Cassandra held the only memories she had of her mother! She didn’t get to- to _defile_ it! She didn’t get to come here with her broken promises and false reassurances! With her greedy fingers and condescending eyes! _She_ was crossing the line, and Cassandra wouldn’t let her get away with it anymore!

Relaxing her posture into a deceptively nonchalant stance, Cassandra strode into the cottage on near-silent feet.

“How are you…” she heard the Princess of Corona say in a baffled voice. As Cassandra crossed the threshold, she recognized a broken music box lying abandoned on the ground, covered in cobwebs. On a whim, she stooped down and plucked the drum, still attached to the comb and hand-crank, out from the skeleton of the music box. Winzig whistled quietly at her, an inquiring lilt in his usual tune. She shushed him softly and slipped the pieces into the pocket of her cloak before continuing deeper into the decrepit cottage toward the princess’s voice.

She heard the rustle and swish of fabric as Rapunzel gasped. “Made of… wax? What is this?”

Furrowing her brow in confusion, Cassandra quickened her pace until the princess was just around the corner. Winzig craned his neck so far around her head to see into the room that he nearly tumbled off of her shoulder before she managed to catch him. Giving him a stern glare, she helped him regain his balance on her shoulder. His apologetic look was followed by a chirr of embarrassment to which her gaze softened and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Looking back around the corner, she hardened her expression and stepped into the room. 

“Clearly someone wanted people to think that Gothel, or her ghost, was hiding here…” the princess was saying to Pascal as she circled the wax impression of Gothel’s head and arms, both of which were mounted on a mannequin beneath a flickering candle. Said mannequin was attached to some sort of intricate pulley system which wrapped all around the room; Cassandra would be willing to bet that probably only Varian could’ve been able to make any sense of it. 

She winced inwardly at the reminder of the missing alchemist, worried speculations beginning to circulate in her brain before she beat them down and forced herself to focus. Latching onto the most glaring feature of the room, Cassandra found herself studying the wax figure of her late mother.

The first thing she noticed was Gothel’s mouth, twisted into an unnerving snarl, and her eyebrows arching high over her wide eyes in an almost frighteningly unhinged expression. Her arms were raised above her head as if to grab the intruders with her clawed hands. 

“The question is—” Rapunzel continued obliviously, and Cassandra decided it was time to make her presence known. 

“Why?” she cut in before the princess could finish. Startled, Rapunzel gasped, whipping around and taking a step back. Pascal squeaked in fright on her shoulder as the princess clenched her fists and lowered herself into a defensive stance.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in a hard voice, though her expression was uncertain. 

“Rumors spread fast in this kingdom,” Cassandra answered vaguely as she sauntered into the candlelight and pulled off her hood. Winzig remained stiff and silent on her shoulder, something she was grateful for. She didn’t really want to deal with him chattering and warbling in her ear at the moment, no matter how fond she’d become of the little Steller’s jay. 

“Right…” Rapunzel said, looking slightly confused. Her gaze searched Cassandra’s face before noticing Winzig. Her green eyes caught on his crumpled wing folded awkwardly at his side with an obvious number of missing feathers.

The other day, Cassandra had to convince Winzig to let her more thoroughly inspect his damaged wing, fearing the possibility of his broken primary feathers getting infected. During her examination, she’d found that, miraculously, the cerulean feathers had barely bled at all, as would normally have been the case. But, despite this, she’d still felt it would be better to err on the side of caution and pluck them out anyways. So, while the feathers would eventually grow back, he would have to deal with a few bare spots on his wing until then.

“Who’s this? What happened to him?” Rapunzel asked, a crease of concern forming between her brows.

Cassandra felt her eye twitch. 

Why did Rapunzel have to be so _nosy?_ Alway wanting to get in other people’s business! All the incessant, prying questions were enough to drive her insane! 

Unsheathing her black sword with the speed and fluidity of a trained warrior, Cassandra pointed its tip under Rapunzel’s chin, forcing the younger girl to back up as she stalked forward. 

“You. Don’t. Belong. Here,” she growled, ignoring the princess’s question as burning waves of rekindled fury raged in her mind.

Winzig clicked loudly in her ear, sounding distraught and almost afraid, but she disregarded his distress and continued advancing on the princess. Without warning, Cassandra felt a sharp, painful yank on the side of her head as the Steller’s jay suddenly grasped a blue lock of hair in his beak and tugged on it harshly. 

“Ow!” she yelled more in shock than pain as her head jerked to the side, pulling her off balance and making her stumble into the mannequin of her mother. “Winzig! What was that for?!” 

However, her irritation with the bird was quickly forgotten as the door slammed shut, making her jump and point her weapon in the direction of the offending noise. When nothing happened, she turned back to Rapunzel only to see a wave of gold flying toward her. 

Thinking quickly, she grabbed a handful of the indestructible hair and pulled hard, knocking the princess to her knees, before tying it around the wooden support in the middle of the room, not noticing Winzig as he lost his balance and toppled off her shoulder. She brandished her sword at Rapunzel, but before she could advance, another lock of hair lashed at her hand, knocking her weapon away.

Cassandra fell into a defensive stance, but in the stillness that followed, she realized Winzig was no longer with her. Not caring about how he’d interfered earlier, she cast around frantically. After a moment, she spotted him lying dazed on the floor with his wings splayed out at his sides. Snapping her gaze back to the princess, she kept her eyes on Rapunzel, who was likewise studying her from the floor, as Cassandra sidled over to the stunned bird. 

“I wonder,” Rapunzel said as Cassandra carefully replaced the Steller’s jay on her shoulder, “are you fighting me... or are you fighting yourself?” 

Suddenly, the princess stood up and rushed at Cassandra. The wielder of the Moonstone darted over to where her sword was lodged in the floor and threw a snide reply over her shoulder, “I’m pretty sure it’s you.”

Calling forth a spike of black rock, she dislodged her sword, making it soar through the air into her outstretched hand. Turning back to Rapunzel, she saw that the princess was trying to untie her hair from the wooden post. Cassandra charged at her and swung, but ended up missing the princess and instead beheading the wax figure of her mother.

Rapunzel dropped down and kicked out with one leg, sweeping Cassandra off her feet and, once again, displacing Winzig from his perch. The Steller’s jay hit the floor with a hollow thud and shrill cry as he landed on his bad wing. 

“Winzig!” Cassandra exclaimed, scrambling over to him. She quickly gathered the bird up in her arms, but her attention was diverted as the black tip of her own sword entered her field of vision. She whipped around defensively to see Rapunzel wielding the blade and Cassandra readied herself to surge upward, shoulder-first, into the princess’s stomach.

“Wait!” Rapunzel pleaded suddenly, lowering the deadly weapon. “Can we just talk about this?” 

Out of nowhere, the drum of her old music box began spinning, plucking out the achingly familiar melody on the metal comb. She took the little device out of her pocket and found herself hit by a sudden wave of nostalgia. She held it to her chest near where she cradled Winzig’s tense form in her other arm. Her resolve hardening, she stood up, pocketing the music box drum, and threw her arm out.

“I am through waiting!” she shouted angrily. Rapunzel and Pascal both gasped in fear as an enormous spire of black rocks shot through the floor, the force of the rocks _picking up_ the cottage and tipping it over on its side. 

All of a sudden, Cassandra was flying across the floor as the world overturned and the wall of the cottage somehow opened up into a dark cavern. Keeping a firm grip on Winzig, who was shrieking in terror, she attempted to control her descent and get her feet underneath her. 

Yelling, she abruptly landed with a harsh _thud!_ which was quickly followed by a _thump!_ as Rapunzel dropped in next to her. Groaning, Cassandra wobbled to her feet—Was she in a minecart?—before processing who she was still with and turning toward Rapunzel with a furious snarl. The princess stumbled back and the movement caused the rusty cart to start down the tracks, rapidly gaining momentum as it hurtled down a steep hill through the cave.

Cassandra yelped and fell back, Winzig struggling in her arms, as the minecart sped onward. Pulling herself back to her feet, she repositioned the bird in her arms so she could hold him against her chest with one hand, leaving the other one free to steady herself on the edge of the cart. 

“What is this place?” she yelled at Rapunzel, glancing at the cavern walls blurring past them. 

“Worry about that later!” the princess replied, frantically looking this way and that. “Right now let’s— _Duck!_ ” She interrupted herself as they both noticed a rapidly approaching stalactite in their path. 

Crouching down inside the minecart and huddling protectively over Winzig, Cassandra braced for impact. They hit the stalactite with a resounding _clang!_ before, amazingly enough, breaking _through_ it without losing any speed. 

Cassandra checked Winzig to make sure he was alright before chancing a glance out of the cart. As they spiraled down the tracks, they somehow managed to gain _even more_ momentum, forcing them to huddle inside the minecart again as the increased air resistance threatened to pull them out of it entirely.

Abruptly, Rapunzel yelled in a desperate voice, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” and Cassandra found herself losing her grip on Winzig as she was jerked forward and thrown into the air. Curling into a protective ball around the bird in her arms, she hit the ground harshly, knocking the air from her chest with a breathless “Oof!” and skidding several more feet. As soon as she stopped moving, she went limp, gasping and gulping as she attempted to recall the oxygen back into her lungs. 

“Winzig?” Cassandra wheezed the moment she got enough breath back. “You good, buddy?” When there was no answer, she looked down to see her arms empty and the Steller’s jay nowhere to be found. 

She scrambled to her feet, new aches and bruises making themselves known with every movement. 

“Winzig?” she called, her worried voice echoing around the cavern they’d landed in. Rapunzel groaned on the floor in front of a tunnel they’d come out of and, reminded of the princess’s presence, fury surged within Cassandra. She raised her hands to call forth the black rocks and put an end to the younger girl. 

Right at that moment, Rapunzel looked around and, seeing her poised to attack, yelled out a warning, “No, don’t!” 

But, in her anger, Cassandra ignored her plea and made a large spike of black rock shoot up from the ground and into the ceiling. Rapunzel rolled out of the way as the cavern shook and groaned. Chunks of stone rained down from the roof of the cave and a thick, choking cloud of dust rose into the air. As it cleared, Cassandra peered through the cloud to see a wall of rock blocking the tunnel. 

Which, of course, had been their only reliable exit.

“And now we’re stuck. Under a mountain.” Rapunzel didn’t bother hiding her accusatory tone as she got to her feet and began tying her hair back.

“Perfect,” Cassandra said sulkily, crossing her arms and turning her back to the princess. “I’m locked in here alone with _you_.”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian groaned, opening his eyes slowly. 

Oh _Demanitus_ did his wing _hurt!_

The feathered appendage, as a whole, ached and throbbed with a heavy, pulsing pain, but if he focused on it, each broken bone felt like its own little lightning bolt of agony. It was almost as bad as when he’d first broken his fingers or when that little _witch_ had squeezed his wing.

Doing his best to ignore the pain, Varian lifted his head to look around. He was lying behind a rock in a cavern of some sort lit by scores of bioluminescent mushrooms. There must have just been a cave-in as dust was still hanging in the air and he could hear a few rocks continuing to tumble down a fresh-looking pile of boulders sitting near him. Rolling over, he clumsily got to his feet before stumbling out from behind the rock.

“Winzig!” came Cassandra’s relieved voice, startling him.

“Yes, that would be _moi_... I guess,” he warbled at her tiredly as she lifted his small form and held him up to inspect him for injury—well, _further_ injury, he assumed. 

“Are you alright?” she asked him quietly, looking into his feathered face.

“Not really,” he answered truthfully, but of course, all she heard was the usual trill of the automaton melody. She stroked his crest comfortingly and he couldn’t help the contented chirr he made in response as he leaned into her fingers.

Suddenly, a loud, screeching growl rang through the cavern and Varian gave an alarmed cheep before wriggling out of Cassandra’s hands and scrambling to perch on her forearm to get a better view of their surroundings. 

As they cautiously approached the origin of the noise, Varian noted with mild exasperation that Cassandra was steadfastly ignoring Rapunzel’s presence next to her. They stopped at the edge of a precipice and peered down into the dark depths of a bottomless pit.

“Maybe we’re not so alone,” the princess remarked apprehensively. 

Varian looked up to see Cassandra scoff and roll her eyes, her expression hard, before turning around and stalking back toward the pile of boulders he’d noticed before. She put the arm he was perched on out next to the overturned minecart for a moment and he stared at her blankly, not quite sure what she was trying to accomplish.

“Well, go on,” she told him, gesturing to the edge of the cart with her other hand.

“Ohhh,” Varian chirruped in understanding as he hopped off of her arm to settle on the side of the minecart.

Cassandra gave him a fondly amused smile before quickly replacing it with her previous hard expression as she turned to the wall of boulders to study it. 

Already figuring out what she was planning, Varian said flatly, “Yeah, no. That’s not going to work.” But, despite his warble, Cassandra began trying to push the boulders out of the way anyway.

As he predicted, it didn’t work.

After a moment, he saw Rapunzel set Pascal down and join Cassandra in trying to physically remove the rocks. 

It still didn’t work.

But, taking the opportunity, Varian hopped to the edge of the cart before carefully jumping down, flaring out his wings to catch the air on instinct which— _ow_ —he immediately regretted. 

While Varian waited for the shocks of pain in his wing to subside, Rapunzel and Cassandra heaved one more time before giving up and moving away from the boulders. Much to his disappointment, Cassandra stooped down and picked him up, before he could try and approach the princess. He chattered at her in annoyance as she placed him on her shoulder and she threw him a confused glance.

“Look, Cassandra,” Rapunzel began, but, it seemed, the older woman was intent on trying to ignore her as she studied the cavern, presumably for other exits. Nevertheless, the princess continued undeterred, “You wanna get out of here, I wanna get out of here, I’m sure Winzig wants to get out of here—” Cassandra gave Rapunzel a sharp look, a dangerous glint in her eye, and the princess raised her hands in a placating gesture before nodding to Varian, who gave her a whistle. “I heard you call him that earlier,” she explained.

Cassandra only scowled.

Unfazed, Rapunzel persisted, “Anyways, I _know_ Pascal definitely also wants—” She broke off as they all watched the chameleon attempt to devour an entire swarm of flies in a single mouthful. Varian observed the scene with vague interest as Pascal’s tongue full of insects managed to lift his body off the ground, but refocused on the princess as she spoke again.

“Okay, uh, Pascal’s having fun, but I know he has my back on this.” As Cassandra began walking away, Rapunzel’s words sped up, the princess apparently trying to get her point across as quickly as possible. “We will get out sooner if we work together, so…” she stepped in front of Cassandra, cutting her off and forcing the woman to look at her as she put her hand out, “truce?”

Cassandra glanced at Varian, who chirped encouragingly, before regarding the proffered hand for a moment. But, to Varian’s undying exasperation, she didn’t accept the offer and only narrowed her eyes at the princess. 

“Temporary truce?” Rapunzel tried again with a hopeful, pleading expression. “Teeny, tiny, temporary truce?”

Cassandra jerked forward, clenching her fist in Rapunzel’s face and making the princess recoil. “I don’t need your help.”

“Oh, for the love of— Whoa!” Varian was interrupted as Cassandra suddenly spun around and called forth several large spikes of glowing black rocks. He flinched violently as an onslaught of painful memories abruptly began filling his head at the sight. The cavern shuddered and moaned around them while Varian trembled on Cassandra’s shoulder, lost in the past. 

Black rock shackles dug into his wrists… Glowing rocks shot toward him with the promise of pain… He couldn’t move fast enough… His fingers exploded with agony… 

“Cass, stop!” Rapunzel’s voice sounded far away as if it were coming through a long tunnel. “You could bring the mountain down on both of us!”

The rumbling didn’t stop. 

Neither did the black rocks.

And neither did the memories.

His shoulder slid out of the socket with excruciating slowness… The sound of snapping fingers echoed in his ears… Black rocks tightened angrily around his ankle…

“You’re scaring Winzig!” Rapunzel’s desperate voice cut through the visions and the rumbling stopped along with the black rocks.

“Winzig?” a tentative voice asked. 

Gradually, the memories faded, leaving him quivering on Cassandra’s shoulder as electric blue eyes gazed at him, filled with regret and worry. It took all of his willpower to focus on Cassandra’s face and try to forget the memories.

“What’s- What’s up?” Varian chirruped shakily as he tried to regain his composure. Answering himself automatically, he said, “The sky.” He glanced up, only to see stalactites decorating a stone ceiling. “...or maybe just a thousand tons of rock.” 

Cassandra’s brow creased with worry as she studied him. Reaching up to stroke his crest, she whispered, “Sorry.”

It was said so softly, so _genuinely_ , that it left Varian stunned. Even after everything that had happened since she’d kidnapped him, Cassandra had never apologized for anything she’d done to him. 

Well, technically, she _had_ apologized once, but that had been reactionary, more of an automatic response. It hadn’t had the sincerity of a real, heartfelt apology.

Abruptly, Rapunzel’s voice drifted over, “Cassandra? Your rocks made rips in the floor…”

Varian and Cassandra both looked at the ground to see there were indeed “rips in the floor”, and a bright yellow gas could be seen rising up through them. The group watched as the gas swirled at their feet, causing the plethora of bioluminescent mushrooms surrounding them to wilt and lose their soft glow.

“Which are evidently leaking poison gas,” Rapunzel added, regarding the yellow vapors fearfully. 

What on Earth?!

...Or would that be _in_ Earth?

Regardless, Varian had never heard of caves with poisonous, yellow gas! Of the common cave gases he knew, there was methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide, but all of those were supposed to be colorless! He ran through a mental checklist: It wasn’t methane, that was only lethal if it displaced the oxygen in the air and it hadn’t been in the cavern long enough to do that yet. The same thing went for carbon dioxide: only lethal if it displaced all the oxygen.

Disregarding the strange color, that left carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide. And while he would lean towards carbon monoxide due to the lack of the rotten egg smell hydrogen sulfide is said to always carry, carbon monoxide doesn’t kill plants, whereas hydrogen sulfide is very helpful in that respect.

So it must’ve been a highly concentrated pocket of hydrogen sulfide gas that got mixed with another gas which somehow caused a chemical reaction that neutralized the odor and altered the color. 

Or it could be magic. Cause, nowadays, magic seemed to be the reason for everything.

Varian really needed a vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept trying to figure out what kind of gas that could've been, but most cave gases that I know of are colorless, sooo... I was constantly having to remind myself that, technically, this is a kid's show, so not everything has to make sense. XD  
> If you figure out what that gas could actually be, let me know! (That is, if it's even a real gas, probably not though :p).
> 
> Constructive criticism, comments, and kudos are immensely appreciated!
> 
> (Also, because I’m curious and no one ever said anything when I mentioned it before, _has_ anyone figured out what I based the “Plight of the Alchemist” title on???)


	8. Accusations & Revelations Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Icy fear flooded through his veins.  
>  _Not again, not again, not again._  
>  A black manacle was clasped around his ankle, smoothly transitioning into a long pole which originated from Cassandra’s hands."  
> . . . .  
> "How had he known? How had a _bird_ known that _particular paper_ was significant?  
> It itched at the back of Cassandra's mind like she should know the answer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoohoo! Part 2 of 3! This chappie’s a long one! Though I believe the next one will be even longer... :)))))
> 
> POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: Panic attacks, PTSD-like flashbacks, unintentional self-harm, mentions of blood, and very mild injury description.  
> (I just want to clarify, the character did _not_ mean to hurt themself, and they kinda just ignore the problem for the rest of the chapter... ;p).
> 
> On that pleasant note, enjoy the chapter!

“Wonderful,” Rapunzel said, throwing her arms out in defeat as tendrils of poisonous gas swirled around them.

“Nothing good comes out of a rift, huh?” Cassandra murmured offhandedly as she studied the yellow gas gradually filling the cavern.

“Hah!” Varian couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of him at the irony of the statement. The sound that erupted from his avian throat sounded like the harsh caw of a crow, making both Rapunzel and Cassandra glance at him in concern. 

Cassandra opened her mouth to comment but was quickly interrupted by a loud squeak from Pascal. Varian peered through the thickening yellow cloud to see the chameleon chasing a few flies around the cave. Out of nowhere, a small, pudgy mole darted out and caught the flies. When it saw Pascal giving him an affronted look, the mole made a croaking sound like it was laughing at him. The little chameleon went to throw himself at the mole, but before Varian could see what happened, yellow gas enveloped the reptile. 

Varian chattered in alarm, hopping around urgently on Cassandra’s shoulder, but, at that moment, Pascal reappeared and scrambled up Rapunzel’s dress to sit on her shoulder and cover his mouth with her hair. 

Suddenly, Varian was distracted by a small swarm of flies that flew into his and Cassandra’s faces. Before he could even think about what he was doing, he snatched a fly out of the air and swallowed it. 

Varian froze.

Did he just…?

Did he just _eat_ a _bug?_

He really, really wanted to say that he felt sick, but… the bug had been… surprisingly tasty.

Ah, there’s the nausea.

“Winzig, look!” Cassandra said suddenly, snapping him back to reality—a reality where he apparently ate bugs, he thought with a disgusted shiver. 

They were facing a skylight of sorts—except, he noted sadly, there wasn’t any sky above it—and the flies that had been bothering them before were slowly making their way up through it, not at all bothered by the fact that Varian had just _eaten one of them._

Cassandra studied the opening, seeming to plot her handholds, her eyes flickering up and down the shaft. After a moment, she grabbed hold of the rock ledge and heaved herself and Varian up through the threshold. Grunting with exertion, she struggled for a few seconds before her feet found footholds to take some of the weight off of her arms. As she began climbing, Varian looked down to see Rapunzel move into view beneath the tunnel.

“Cass, don’t you think that we’ll improve our odds if we stick together?” the princess said, apparently still pushing for the truce.

Varian glanced at Cassandra and saw her scowl fiercely before whipping her arm to her back and unsheathing her sword to point it down threateningly at the younger girl.

“Rapunzel, there is _no_ bond between us anymore. Got it?” she growled before resheathing her sword. “The sooner you can accept that, the better off we’ll be. So, Winzig and I are going in this direction, and you’re going to go _anywhere_ else.”

With that, Cassandra resolutely turned away from the princess and resumed scaling the tunnel. Varian began to warble reproachfully at her, but it morphed into a coo of concern when he took in her suddenly sad and conflicted expression.

Cassandra glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she continued their ascent, but otherwise, didn’t say anything. 

When they reached the mouth of the chute, Varian peered around. Minus the poison gas and the mushrooms, this cavern looked much the same as the other one, though it had a few more tunnels leading out of it, which was a relief.

At least, until the biggest mole Varian had ever seen and never hoped to see again abruptly charged out of one of those tunnels. 

It was an ugly thing with a fleshy, pink snout, blind, milky eyes, matted black fur, and wrinkly, clawed feet. The creature was easily as big as his old house, if not bigger.

And despite the fact that Varian _really_ wanted to know how and why it was so gargantuan, he also really, _really_ wanted it to leave.

Like, in the next five seconds.

He’d even be okay with ten seconds.

It just needed to leave.

_Please?_

. . .Demanitus help them.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Winzig looked like he was on the verge of a heart attack.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Deep breaths, Varian, deep breaths. This is fine. It’s just like Ruddiger when you—

Deep breaths.

Varian opened his eyes—When had he closed them?—to see the behemoth mole was still there, but it wasn’t actively attacking them, so he’d count his blessings. 

He held his breath as Cassandra backed up onto a ledge behind them. The mole swung its enormous head around, snuffling the air as it shuffled toward them on fleshy paws. After a few tense moments, it turned around and waddled back down the tunnel. Once he was sure it wasn’t coming back, Varian pulled his gaze away from the tunnel to look behind them.

“Uh, Cassandra, maybe take a few steps forw _ooaaah! I said forwards, not backwards!_ ” he screeched as they suddenly started freefalling into a very deep, very dark hole. 

What is it with him and always _falling off things?!_

Cassandra suddenly disappeared from next to him, her screams cutting off sharply.

“Winzig!” he heard her yell from above him as the wind whistled loudly in his ears. His eyes were streaming, which was making it hard to see, and he couldn’t tell which way was up. He tried flapping his wings, but knew it was a lost cause even before the flare of pain that made him pull them back. 

Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light behind him as something grabbed his ankle and his descent jerked to an abrupt halt. Now hanging upside down, but no longer falling to his death, Varian gasped. He wasn’t sure entirely why, it could’ve been in fear, pain, exhilaration, or any combination of the three, but, regardless, it felt calming for whatever reason. 

He looked up to see what had caught him, expecting Rapunzel’s hair or maybe even Rapunzel herself somehow. 

It wasn’t either of those.

Varian’s heart stuttered and his blood froze. Icy fear flooded through his veins and tore through his mind, eradicating any chance of rational thought.

_Not again, not again, not again._

A black manacle was clasped around his ankle, smoothly transitioning into a long pole that originated from Cassandra’s hands. It looked as though she’d taken all her black rock armor and forced it into a stiff rod to reach down and grab hold of him. She was left wearing a gray and black outfit that clung tightly to her frame, presumably to fit under her armor. A thick lock of golden hair wrapped around her waist kept her from falling into the endless depths of the dark void below.

While normally Varian would be asking all sorts of questions about how she’d managed to do that with her armor, right now, he couldn’t have cared less.

All he cared about was getting. It. _Off!_

He couldn’t go back to being a prisoner! He couldn’t go back to being stuck in that black tower! He couldn’t go back to that demonic little girl! He couldn’t—

His shackles rubbed his wrists as Cassandra marched him up the dark stairs… The manacle on his ankle pinned him to the ground as he tried to kick the spirit-girl away… It chafed and burned as he struggled to stop the frozen-boiling feeling in his hand… The pressure on his ankle increased at the command of Cassandra’s clenched fist… Tighter and tighter… 

Something was scratching his leg, tearing at it. Tugging and pulling and ripping and clawing and— _it wouldn’t get off!_

_Not again, not again, not again._

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Winzig!” Cassandra yelled as the bird continued falling into the pit while she hung safely from Rapunzel’s hair.

She went to create a platform underneath him before a thought struck her, halting her hands. He wouldn’t survive landing like that. His hollow bones would shatter on impact. 

Cassandra glanced around for anything, _anything_ , that could help. Her gaze landed on the black armor coating her hands. 

Moving as quickly as she could, she pulled the black rocks from her body and began creating a long, thin, but unbreakable, rod. It would have to do.

She willed it to reach down into the hole, to catch up with the little Steller’s jay before he could meet his untimely end. The moment it looked close enough to the bird’s distant form, she transformed the end of the pole into a sort of clasp, grabbing onto Winzig’s ankle and slowing his descent to a halt. 

She held her breath when he didn’t move… and released it when she finally heard a faint, gasping squeak. 

“Are you both okay? Can I pull you up now?” the princess’s voice suddenly sounded above Cassandra.

She scowled, glancing up to see Rapunzel squinting into the darkness that had enveloped her and Winzig.

She gritted her teeth. “Yes,” she called up after a moment in a clipped tone. 

Rapunzel didn’t say anything else and Cassandra felt a sharp tug at her waist as the princess began pulling her and Winzig up and out of the pit. 

While she did so, Cassandra began carefully retracting the pole of black rocks, reforming her armor as she went. The long rod glowed blue and Cassandra kept her eyes on the small Steller’s jay at the end of it.

He hadn’t moved since that first gasp and it was beginning to worry her. She wanted to snap at Rapunzel to hurry up, but, after having seen the princess in action before, Cassandra knew that she was already going relatively fast. 

So she kept her mouth shut and resigned herself to waiting in anxious silence.

The moment Cassandra cleared the lip of the pit and got her feet firmly on the ground, she turned around and went to finish pulling Winzig up. 

“Good idea,” Rapunzel remarked, gesturing to the rod, but Cassandra ignored her.

Out of nowhere, Winzig started screaming. It was the same horrible, strangely human scream he’d made when he was trapped under the tree branch, and something inside her resonated unsettlingly with the awful noise. 

Rapunzel faded into the background as Cassandra threw caution to the wind and yanked back the rest of her armor. She quickly morphed it to her frame as Winzig came into view and fell to the ground at her feet. He thrashed around on the stone floor, a writhing ball of feathers and wings, looking as though he were attacking something. 

Cassandra dropped to her knees and stretched her hands out toward him with the intent to calm the frenzied bird. He made a muffled hissing sound, and she recoiled as he rolled around, allowing Cassandra to finally glimpse what he was struggling with.

His right ankle. The one she’d caught with the rocks.

He was clawing and biting at it with his talons and beak, his wings flailing around as he tore into himself without hesitation. 

Acting without thinking, she snapped her fingers and made several spikes of black rock shoot out of the ground around Winzig and pin the bird to the floor, keeping him from continuing to attack his ankle.

Not wanting to get bitten by the panicky Steller’s jay, she waited until he’d stopped struggling to reach out and stroke his crest. At the touch, he relaxed on the ground, going limp and breathing heavily. Continuing to pet his head, she leaned over to inspect his ankle.

It was gruesome, red, and raw, leaking little rivulets of blood onto the cave floor. Cassandra grimaced, wondering what had possessed the bird to do such a thing to himself. While he would heal, given a little time, it made her worry as to whether or not something like this could happen again. 

A thought struck her, was it because of her rocks? He’d had an… adverse reaction to them earlier, maybe something bad happened—

“Here,” a soft voice said by her ear, startling Cassandra half out of her wits. She whipped around to see that Rapunzel had torn a small strip of cloth from the bottom of her dress and was offering it to her.

Cassandra took the cloth without a word and turned back to Winzig. His eyes were squeezed shut and his head was tilted back, his small face looking pained and world-weary. 

“Winzig,” she called softly, not wanting to scare the bird by suddenly messing with his ankle. He opened his light blue eyes and warbled at her defeatedly, the sound made Cassandra’s heart pang with the same strange guilt that she was gradually becoming familiar with. 

She didn’t bother trying to push it away this time.

Interpreting his warble as permission, Cassandra gently took the small black leg between her fingers and began carefully wrapping the cloth around the wound.

Winzig didn’t even flinch.

Once she was done, she pushed the rocks pinning him down back into the earth, and cautiously picked the bird up. He remained still and despondent as she cradled him in the crook of her elbow and began smoothing out his feathers. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian wasn’t entirely sure what happened, all he knew was that his ankle would never forgive him.

His brain was entirely scientific, his thoughts practical and calculating. He tried his best—not that it usually seemed to do much—not to indulge in emotions like grief or fear. He’s found that, at least for him, they often lead to… unhealthy choices.

So he… 

…He didn’t even know why he was thinking about this, it wasn’t even relevant! 

He had a panic attack. He tore up his ankle. It hurt. It was his own fault. Now he has a busted leg to match his busted wing. End of story. 

Cassandra and Rapunzel hadn’t spoken a word to each other for as long as he’d been… aware, and instead, they both simply explored the new cavern in silence.

Well, Rapunzel explored the cavern, Cassandra mostly kept her eyes on him as he sat stiffly on her arm, his leg stuck out awkwardly, avoiding her electric blue gaze.

Suddenly, Cassandra sighed and said, “Winzig—”

“Bats!” Rapunzel’s voice echoed out of one of the tunnels. “Giant bats! Run!”

Varian didn’t think he’d ever been so grateful for giant bats.

Cassandra spun around, presumably to look for an exit, and Varian winced when the movement made his ankle throb. However, his attention was diverted as Rapunzel sprinted out of the tunnel chased by a horde of very large, flying mammals.

If he weren’t so horrified, he might’ve laughed.

 _That_ was what he’d been grateful for a few seconds ago?!

He took it back. He took it all back.

Cassandra suddenly surged forward, making him trill in surprise and pain as the unexpected movement jostled both his wing and his ankle. He looked ahead to see her making a beeline for an extremely random and convenient—but no less appreciated—door in the cave wall.

Cassandra raised a hand and made a column of rock bust open the door, and Varian flinched before willing himself to focus instead on Rapunzel. She’d nearly caught up to them, only seven or so feet away. 

Once he and Cassandra had crossed the threshold of the room, she turned around and grasped the door in one hand. For a moment, Varian thought she would close it. Lock Rapunzel out there with the bats. Leave her for dead.

Clearly, the thought had crossed her mind as well, if the strain and conflict on her face was anything to go by.

But she didn’t, and Rapunzel sped into the room unhindered before spinning around to help Cassandra hold the door shut against the bats shrieking on the other side.

After a moment, the growls subsided and the two women straightened.

Varian continued to avoid Cassandra’s eyes as she looked him over worriedly, her mouth pressed into a thin line. His ankle throbbed and his wing had little shocks of pain shooting through it, but, by some magic—or as he liked to call it “Unexplained Science”—, he managed to keep a straight face.

“And that is going in the journal!” Rapunzel said abruptly with a breathless laugh. “Three pages. Easy.” 

Varian stared at her incredulously. They almost died, and she’s talking about a journal?

He looked up at Cassandra to see her reaction and found the woman’s face still full of conflict. She squeezed her eyes shut as she seemed to brace herself for something before saying, “Okay, fine.”

“Fine what?” Varian asked at the same time as Rapunzel.

Cassandra turned to face Rapunzel, putting out the hand that wasn’t holding Varian. “Temporary truce. But just until we get out of here.”

Varian warbled happily and Rapunzel glanced at him before putting her hand on her chin thoughtfully, and saying, “Well… now I have a new condition.”

Cassandra pulled her hand back with a frustrated noise, narrowing her eyes at the princess. “Lemme guess, I have to be nice to you.”

“That’s not what I was gonna say,” Rapunzel said immediately before breaking into a sheepish grin. “Yeah, okay, that is what I was gonna say, but… you just have to not be mean.” She put her hand out, her green eyes full of hope.

Cassandra gave the princess a disdainful look before reluctantly taking the offered hand. She quickly let go after two shakes and turned away, saying in a dry, sarcastic voice, “That was oh so delightful.”

Varian gave her an encouraging chitter and she looked down at him, her expression softening. 

“All right, I’ll let that slide because we’re just starting,” Rapunzel said, but Cassandra ignored her as they proceded toward a strange tunnel lit by more bioluminescent mushrooms. In the soft green glow, Varian could make out dozens upon dozens of ornate mirrors decorating the walls along with various other furnishings spread throughout the passage.

Behind them, Rapunzel struck a match from her bag and lit a torch that had been on the wall. She pulled it out of the bracket and walked around, the flames casting a warm, orange glow over the area.

Cassandra approached a wall plastered in papers. Each paper was covered with drawings and words—that he couldn’t read, he remembered with a pang—, and each drawing was scribbled over with little symbols and annotations. 

It reminded Varian of his lab in Old Corona.

He hadn’t been back there in… probably since before Rapunzel asked him to translate the Demanitus Scro—

The Demanitus Scroll!

Even without being able to read any of the symbols, Varian could recognize those illustrations anywhere.

He squawked at Cassandra, gesturing emphatically with his right wing toward the page on the wall that was an exact replica of the scroll he’d spent weeks poring over. Cassandra looked down at him before following his outstretched wing to the page. 

She gasped. “Rapunzel.”

The princess walked over to see what they were looking at before sucking in a breath. “The Sundrop… And look,” she pointed to the bottom of the Scroll, “that’s the Sun Incantation… Gothel was alive a long time,” she remarked.

Varian felt Cassandra’s fingers twitch.

Rapunzel brushed her fingers across the other papers, each filled with meaningless symbols. Varian noticed, though, that a few of them had different kinds of symbols, the markings looked like a different style. Maybe they were from the cipher he’d translated for Rapunzel… 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

The princess scrutinized the other notes, several of which were filled with strange, unfamiliar symbols. “Maybe I should bring these back, see if we can translate them,” Rapunzel murmured thoughtfully, though her green eyes held a hint of sadness. 

Wait, had they found Varian, yet? Cassandra wondered suddenly, the mention of translations making her think of the alchemist.

She opened her mouth to ask. 

Before snapping it shut again and shaking her head. She had a destiny, she couldn’t allow herself to be sidetracked by one missing boy. If they’d found Varian, then good, they’d found Varian. And if they hadn’t found Varian… 

She shut down the thought before it could progress further, but the whisper of guilt remained.

Winzig looked up at her questioningly and she quickly pasted on a small smile. Seeming to be satisfied, he returned to studying the Demanitus Scroll.

Cassandra furrowed her brow, struck by another thought. Winzig was the one who’d seen the Scroll first. _Winzig_ was the one who alerted _her_ to its existence. 

But how had he known? How had a _bird_ —heck, a bird she’d only met yesterday!—known of its importance? How had he known that _particular paper_ was significant?

It itched at the back of her mind like she should know the answer. 

“Whoa, I knew she was vain, but…” Cassandra was pulled out of her musings by Rapunzel’s voice.

She looked up to see the princess had moved on, having already taken a few of the notes with the different symbols and continued further down the passage.

Cassandra hurried over and stopped at her shoulder before raising her eyebrows at the _excessive_ number of mirrors covering every inch of the cave wall.

Well, almost every inch.

“It looks like one’s missing,” Rapunzel said, apparently noticing the same thing. Cassandra leaned against the wall to inspect the sole empty space but immediately recoiled when the mirror she’d braced her hand against began glowing.

Cassandra’s heart stopped as her mother appeared in the glass.

“Good morning, beautiful,” she said, leaning forward.

“Mother?” Cassandra breathed in unison with Rapunzel. Winzig trilled in shock and Pascal ran somewhere behind them to hide.

“Well, don’t you look lovely today?” Gothel continued, heedless of the group. ”Smoky eyes definitely work for you.”

Cassandra felt her eyebrows raise even further into her hairline. 

“And she’s… talking to herself,” Rapunzel said flatly, coming to stand beside Cassandra. The princess touched another mirror and a different image of her mother appeared in that one.

“Today I received several compliments on my way into town…”

Cassandra tapped a third mirror, an odd feeling growing in her chest.

“The bookseller couldn’t believe how young I looked…” 

“Magic mirrors,” she murmured disbelievingly. Winzig warbled in her arms as he looked around at all the mirrors, apparently feeling the same incredulity.

“Looks like these can trap images and play them back,” Rapunzel added with a frown, shining the torch around to light up different parts of the tunnel. “Like a diary or something.”

Cassandra’s eye twitched and she found herself saying, “And I thought your journal was—”

“Nah-ah-ah-ah,” Rapunzel cut her off, waving a finger in her face.

Cassandra groaned and rolled her eyes, her irritation rising. “— _less_ annoying than this. Happy now?” she finished with a scowl before continuing down the tunnel.

“Yes, I am.”

Winzig chittered in her arms as if he were laughing at her. 

“Traitor,” she muttered.

He stopped.

As they came upon a wider section of the passage filled with various furnishings, Rapunzel bent down and used her torch to light the old wood still sitting in the stone fireplace. As the wood caught, bathing the room in warm, flickering light, Cassandra kneeled down in front of another mirror and tapped the glass.

“I was paid the nicest compliment today. There I was picking out fruit, and—” her mother turned around with an annoyed look on her face, “Oh, Cassandra. Would you be a dear and sweep a little _quieter_. “ Her question ended in a growl as a young Cassandra wilted beneath her gaze and scurried out of sight. The image faded and Cassandra looked down, the feeling in her chest becoming more pronounced. Winzig peered up at her sadly and he cooed in an attempt to comfort her, his light blue eyes seeming to say, “It’s all right, I understand.”

…And now she was making things up to feel less… 

…less lonely… 

“Well,” Rapunzel said softly behind her, “that’s typical Gothel right there.”

Confused, Cassandra stood up and faced the princess. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Rapunzel seemed a bit startled at the question and she looked away before saying, “She wasn’t exactly the nurturing type. When she was around, that is.”

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at her, feeling the urge to pick a fight. “Funny, she was never around for me.” Her glare sharpened. “I wonder why.”

Rapunzel recoiled before anger filled her normally kind eyes. “It’s not like I asked to be taken from my parents by a madwoman! And all Gothel ever wanted from me was my _hair!_ She didn’t love me!” Her gaze softened slightly. “She didn’t _love_ either of us.”

Cassandra averted her eyes, her mind beginning to race with incomprehensible thoughts of everything and nothing. She didn’t know what to think about that. She didn’t _want_ to think about that.

“Cass, the only good thing Gothel ever did was bring us together.”

Rapunzel took a step toward her and Cassandra took a few steps back, narrowing her eyes at the princess.

“‘Only good thing’?” Cassandra repeated angrily. “You really think this is a good thing?”

“It was.”

“For you maybe,” she spat and turned her back to Rapunzel.

“Cassandra, do you really think that woman cared about anyone but herself?”

She ignored the blonde and turned to another mirror. 

“Cassandra, what are you doing in here?” came her mother’s voice. “I thought I told you to make us dinner!”

She squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn’t sure how to feel. It was her _mother._

But…

“You and I have something in common that no one else could ever understand,” Rapunzel continued. 

Cassandra opened her eyes to look at the princess, but her gaze caught on a trail of glowing, green liquid just behind Rapunzel. It slithered across the floor and she followed it to where the substance would end up.

The fireplace.

“Rapunzel!” she shouted just as the green liquid reached the fire. Brilliant, emerald flames erupted along the trail and an oddly sticky heat washed over Cassandra. Winzig screeched and she looked down at him to see the bird gesturing frantically with his uninjured wing to a cabinet filled with beakers of the same glowing fluid. 

Her gaze snapped over to where Rapunzel was trapped on the other side of the blaze. Without thinking, she called two spikes to burst out of the ground. The black rocks slid under Rapunzel’s armpits and carried her and Pascal to safety beside Cassandra. 

The group stood motionless, silently enraptured as the flames reached the cabinet, setting it alight. The glass beakers began whistling, their contents boiling under the heat. The bottles shook and clattered against one another as the emerald flames built higher, but, still, Cassandra felt rooted to the floor, unable to tear her eyes away.

The squealing of the beakers jumped up an octave and Winzig trilled a high-pitched warning, starting to struggle in her arms. However, Cassandra was utterly entranced by the strange, emerald fire, and Rapunzel remained unmoving as well, also ensnared by the hypnotic dance of green flames. 

Abruptly, the cabinet went still, the shaking and bubbling having stopped, and Winzig _screamed_ in her arms. 

The human scream rang harshly through her skull, jolting her back to reality along with Rapunzel and Pascal. Cassandra acted on insitnct and turned on her heel, starting to run down the tunnel, the princess following close behind.

The cabinet suddenly exploded at their backs in a blinding flash of green light and the hypnotic inferno raged on louder and stronger than before. Cassandra pitched forward from the force of the blast, falling headlong into the cave floor.

Dazed, she lay there for a moment, blinking the spots out of her vision. Her ears buzzed at an uncomfortable volume and she shut her eyes tightly, hoping that would make the noise go away.

Abruptly, a loud, terrified warble sounded next to her and, reminded of their predicament, Cassandra bolted to her feet. Winzig hobbled over to her, limping on his injured ankle, and she stooped down quickly to pick him back up. 

Her ears continued buzzing, but she did her best to ignore it; looking around, she spotted Rapunzel and Pascal still on the ground. But that wasn’t the only thing she saw.

Cracks from the explosion had formed on the floor.

And yellow gas was pouring out of them like smoke from a forest fire.

“Please, tell me that gas isn’t also flammable.”

Winzig, seeming to have just noticed the poisonous vapor, released a shrieking trill at the sight of it and began struggling violently in her grip once more. 

Deciding to follow his advice—as he’d pretty much saved them from the cabinet explosion—, she grabbed Rapunzel’s arm, pulling her off the floor, and, without letting go, started sprinting down the tunnel and away from the gas and the green flames.

Only a few seconds later, a deafening explosion sounded behind them, and the resulting rush of air propelled them forward several feet. Cassandra and Rapunzel stumbled before regaining their balance and resuming their mad dash to escape the growing inferno.

As they ran, Cassandra glanced down at Winzig. He was craning his neck around her to study the green flames following them.

How had he known?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have no idea if Cass can canonically (lol, trying saying that 5 times fast) do any of that with her armor, but I figure, if she can make a tower, cages, and handcuffs, she can make a pole out of her armor.
> 
> Do you guys think I need to change this story's rating? I think I'm still okay as a Teen rating, but I'm not entirely sure what constitutes a Teen rating vs a Mature rating.
> 
> Comments, kudos, constructive criticism, & predictions (b/c I want to know what you guys think will happen next) are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Also, because I want to mess with you all...  
> I just want to let you know that I consider Part 2 to be the _calm_ before the storm....... :)


	9. Accusations & Revelations Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Rapunzel stared dead into her eyes. 'Cassandra, please, if you know what happened to Varian, you _have_ to tell me. I want to at least be able to give people some closure.'  
>  _What?_  
>  Cassandra felt her bubble of rage pop.  
> And then she heard herself explode."  
> . . . .  
> " _His blood is on your hands._  
>  Varian's goggles flashed through Cassandra's mind, broken and buried beneath the destruction she’d caused."  
> . . . .  
> "Varian had never hated and loved his stupid, genius brain more than he did in that moment."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst here! Angst here! Get your angst here! Get it dark and get it rocky! 
> 
> Holy frick! Y'all better love this chapter 'cause I got over 5,200 words of angst here and editing took for. _Ever!_ And I decided to do a longer chapter summary too cause this update’s so big.
> 
> Also, heads up so you're not wondering about it while you're reading, the whole "Rapunzel stole my mother" thing with Cass kinda takes a backseat b/c she gets more focused on the more important things that are brought up. In this story, all the "mother-daughter abandonment" issues just aren't going to be particularly important sooo... Yeah, just don't expect much from that area... Cass has got enough on her mind without bothering with that too... ;)
> 
> POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Semi-graphic descriptions of blood.
> 
> And now, may I present to you..... Part 3 of Accusations & Revelations!!!  
> Enjoy the chapter!

Idiots!

They’re all idiots! 

Why wouldn’t they move?! 

The cabinet went silent, telling Varian that they had only a few seconds before the extremely unstable chemicals exploded in fiery, green glory. 

“We are all going to die if you don’t. _Move!_ ” Varian screamed at Cassandra, his desperation rising into full-blown panic.

Finally, Cassandra and Rapunzel jerked out of their reverie and stopped staring at the emerald flames. Without a word, they both began running away from the fire, Varian bouncing—“Ow, ow, ow”—in Cassandra’s arms. 

“And… three… two… one,” he counted off under his breath.

The cabinet erupted in violent, green flames, and he felt a sort of grim satisfaction at having been able to time it accurately.

Varian had caused his fair share of explosions back in Old Corona, he’d have been rather disappointed in himself if he’d got it wrong. 

Cassandra pitched forward from the force of the aftershock and Varian found himself tumbling out of her arms. Sharp needles of agony shot through his wing as he landed on the hard stone floor and his ankle twinged harshly, earning a pained chirp from him.

Shaking his head to clear it, he rolled onto his side and unsteadily got to his feet. Looking around, he saw Cassandra lying on the floor next to him and Rapunzel a few feet away. 

A wave of oppressive, sticky heat washed over him and he glanced over his shoulder. 

The heat, it seemed, was no longer a bother because Varian suddenly felt like he’d been dunked in a freezing lake. 

His blood ran cold and his small heart stuttered as the green inferno advanced on them, the emerald flames licking at the cave walls, melting the mirrors, and devouring the wooden furniture.

A warble of pure terror escaped his beak and Cassandra suddenly shot to her feet before picking him up off the floor. His wing zinged with pain at the sudden movement, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

Abruptly, Cassandra slumped. “Please tell me that gas isn’t also flammable,” she said in a weary voice.

Varian felt his fear rise to previously thought impossible heights as his eyes fell to the ground to see the yellow gas from before leaking out of cracks in the floor. 

The mystery gas. 

Oh no.

If that had any methane in it… 

“Run!” he shrieked, beginning to struggle in Cassandra’s arms in order to get the message across. 

The woman didn’t hesitate, grabbing Rapunzel’s arm and pulling her to her feet before sprinting down the passage, dragging the princess behind her. Varian managed to catch a brief glimpse of Pascal’s green head peeking out of Rapunzel’s blonde hair before disappearing again.

A moment later, a thunderous boom shook the tunnel. Cassandra and Rapunzel both stumbled forward but quickly regained their footing and continued onward. 

Varian could feel the sticky heat of the fire and see the grasping, fiery tongues rapidly closing the distance between them; his stomach dropped at the implications and he shrilled a warning.

Rapunzel glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened so much that Varian could make out the emerald flames reflected in her green irises.

“Cass,” she gasped as they ran, “can’t you, you know, use your rocks and cut the fire off or something?”

“But—” Her eyes flickered down at Varian and he felt momentarily touched that she would consider his feelings before acting. However, he also quickly decided that, right now, he didn’t really care about his feelings because if she didn’t do something, _they were all going to die!_

He warbled hurriedly to tell her that it was fine and she gave him a firm nod. Turning on the spot and letting go of Rapunzel’s arm, Cassandra threw her free hand up to the ceiling. 

As blazing, green inferno drew ever nearer, Varian shut his eyes so he wouldn’t see the blue glow and the black rocks that Cassandra would call on to block the fire’s path. But the louder the roaring flames became and the hotter the air around them grew, Varian found himself bracing for the undoubtedly horrible feeling of being burned alive.

But, thankfully, it never came. 

When the grinding and groaning of splitting stone filled the air, muting the crackling of the inferno, Varian squeezed his shut even tighter and willed himself to not think about it.

When the sounds finally stopped, Varian hesitantly squinted his eyes open and looked up to see a wall of black rocks had risen out of the floor and into the ceiling only two feet in front of them. So while the air was still hot and strangely sticky, he felt it was safe to say the fire had been successfully cut off.

Rapunzel let out a loud exhale. “Whew, that was way too close, am I right?” She glanced at Cassandra with a relieved grin, but Cassandra avoided her eyes and seemed to be trying to focus on Varian instead.

“You all right?” she asked tentatively.

“I’m not roasted chicken, so I think I’m doing pretty good,” he chirruped good-naturedly, genuinely glad that he wasn’t roasted. Or a chicken.

She gave him a small smile and glanced up at Rapunzel who was watching her with a soft smile. The princess’s expression seemed wistful and her green eyes were melancholic while Pascal sat on her shoulder appearing extremely confused.

Cassandra’s gaze hardened. “What?” she snapped.

Rapunzel pulled back slightly with a startled look before recovering and replacing her smile. “Nothing,” she said. “It’s just… You really care about him, don’t you?”

Cassandra stiffened, her expression going blank. If Varian had been drinking something, he would have spat it out. 

He honestly didn’t know how to feel about that statement. Once upon a time, he would have been glowing with happiness at the notion that Cassandra might care about him. But now… After everything she’d done to him… 

Well, as he’d said before, he didn’t know how to feel.

She seemed to care about him. But not _him._ She cared about _Winzig_ , not _Varian._ Except, Varian _was_ Winzig… But Winzig wasn’t Varian. Varian was in Winzig, but there was no Winzig in Varian. And Varian wasn’t a bird, and if Varian was Winzig then that meant Winzig wasn’t a bird. Except Winzig _was_ a bird… And Varian… wasn’t? 

Wait, what?

Nevermind. To put it simply, Cassandra cared about who she thought _Winzig_ was.

“You know what? Forget I ever said anything,” Rapunzel said, waving her hands as if to clear the question from the air. However, a happy, knowing smile seemed to have permanently plastered itself across her face.

Varian felt Cassandra’s arms relax slightly and the two women resumed going down the tunnel, this time at a much more sedate pace. They walked down the tunnel in companionable silence for a few moments before Rapunzel suddenly stopped.

“Cass, stop,” she said, holding her arm out.

Cassandra threw her a confused glance but stopped nonetheless. 

Rapunzel stood silently for several long seconds, her eyes unfocused and her head tilted to the side before she looked at Cassandra with an excited grin. “Wind!” she exclaimed. “I hear wind!”

Varian turned his head this way and that and, sure enough, he could make out a faint whistle coming from further down the tunnel. His eyes widened. “We must be near an opening or a weak section in the wall or something!” he trilled joyfully. 

Cassandra’s face split into a grin and they picked up the pace, each keeping their ears out for the whistle. As it grew louder, they began looking for little specks of light that would give away the hole where the wind was coming through. They became so focused that, it seemed, Rapunzel forgot to watch her step and abruptly tripped over a slight rise in the cave floor. 

“Whoa!” she yelped but managed to catch herself before she could fall over. Her bag swung off her shoulder and slid down her arm, dropping to the floor where it fell onto its side with a clang. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra hid a laugh behind her hand before glancing down at Rapunzel’s overturned bag.

Her stomach dropped.

“The missing mirror,” she murmured numbly as she picked up the object. “You took it?”

Winzig warbled in confusion from where he sat in the crook of her elbow.

Rapunzel straightened, pulling her bag back onto her shoulder. Her expression was baffled. “What? No!” she denied, waving her hands in front of her. “I have no idea how that got in my bag!”

Cassandra looked back down at the no doubt very old handheld mirror. It was somehow still in near flawless condition—magic, her mind whispered—except for a single, wide crack on the right side. The missing, triangular fragment traveled from the edge to the middle of the mirror, taking a sizable chunk out of the two elegant peacocks decorating the frame as well as the reflector itself and rendering Cassandra’s image incomplete. 

Tentatively, she brushed her fingertips across the cracked surface.

The mirror flickered for a moment before a scene appeared.

Her mother was sitting at a table with a young Cassandra, in her hand was an ornate music box.

 _Cassandra’s_ music box.

“Oh, here, let me show you, sweetheart,” Mother said with a kind smile. “Turn the key, like this,” she took the small key between her thumb and forefinger and began winding it around, “so whenever you hear this tune, you’ll think of your dear, sweet mother, and the love I have for you.” She offered the music box to the girl.

Young Cassandra stared at the gift for a moment before rushing into her mother’s arms. “I love you, mama!” she declared happily. She held the hug for a moment before turning and taking the music box. 

The image flickered as it faded and Cassandra was left staring at her furious expression. 

“Cass,” Rapunzel began. “I have never seen that.” 

Cassandra lowered the mirror. “ _Really?_ ” she ground out between clenched teeth as she felt her fury rise. “The _one_ mirror showing that Mother, _my_ mother, had a _shred_ of affection for me, and it just happens to wind up in your bag?” She hated the desperate, pleading edge her tone had taken on. She wanted a _reason_ , she wanted to understand _why._

Rapunzel’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly, but that told Cassandra all she needed to know. 

Winzig trilled at her, but she paid him no mind. Her expression twisted into something ugly and she went to push Rapunzel aside. “Out of my—”

“Wait!” Rapunzel grasped Cassandra’s arm in an iron grip. “Please, Cass, let me explain!”

Cassandra’s eye twitched. She felt as though a bubble of rage was growing within her and if Rapunzel kept poking at it, the bubble would pop and she would explode. Only, part of her still wanted to hear the princess’s explanation, wanted to know that she had a _reason._ So Cassandra stopped and planted her feet, but kept her back to the younger girl. 

Winzig chattered at her, but she ignored him, waiting for Rapunzel to speak. 

She heard the princess exhale quietly before repeating her earlier words, “I _promise_ you, I have _no_ idea how that mirror got into my bag— Let me finish!” she added, holding up a hand as Cassandra spun around, her lips curled into a snarl, the bubble of rage quivering. 

Cassandra’s mouth snapped shut and her face settled into a glower. 

Rapunzel wilted slightly under the heat of her glare before regathering her nerve and straightening. 

“This morning,” she began, “I heard a story from a young boy about the ghost of Old Lady Gothel haunting a cottage up in the mountains. At first, I wanted to go check it out because I was worried that Gothel had actually returned, but on the way here, I started wondering if maybe there was a chance you would show up too…” she trailed off before taking a deep breath. “The point is, I didn’t come here to take some magic mirror that, up until now, I had no idea even existed.” Cassandra opened her mouth to argue, but Rapunzel forged ahead. “And while I _did_ come here to figure out if the rumors of Gothel’s ghost were true, I also came because I was hoping to talk to you.”

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the princess. “About what?” she asked, a dangerous edge to her voice, the bubble of rage wavered ominously. 

Rapunzel sighed and her whole body unexpectedly slumped with exhaustion. She looked down at the ground and a few loose strands of hair fell into her face. Several tense seconds passed in silence as Rapunzel seemed to recollect herself. 

Suddenly, she looked up into Cassandra’s face. “Varian’s still missing,” she said quietly. 

The princess’s voice, she noted, sounded more despairing than Cassandra had ever heard it. 

Then she processed what had actually been said and the floor dropped out from under her feet.

_Varian’s still missing._

Winzig made a strangled noise and began wiggling in her arms, but she didn’t even notice.

_Varian’s still missing._

_Varian’s still missing._

_Varian’s still missing._

_And it’s your faul—_

“We’ve sent out search parties, we’ve combed the entire forest, we’ve put up posters, we’ve asked everyone to keep an eye out, but…” Rapunzel said, breaking into her spiral. “Cassandra, Quirin’s devastated, he’s running himself into the ground, Ruddiger will barely eat, Eugene’s beside himself, and I—” She cut herself off and took a breath, straightening her shoulders. 

Cassandra sensed Winzig go completely still and she felt a momentary flicker of concern before she was distracted by Rapunzel again. 

Clenching her fists at her sides, the princess looked up and stared dead into Cassandra’s eyes, green gaze steely and resolute. “Cassandra, please, if you know where Varian is, if you know what _happened_ to him, you _have_ to tell me. I want to at least be able to give people some closure.” 

What?

_What?_

Cassandra felt her bubble of rage pop.

And then she heard herself explode.

“Are you _seriously_ suggesting that I _killed_ Varian?!” she snarled in Rapunzel’s face, her voice quavering with fury. The princess shrunk back and Pascal turned white on her shoulder, but all Cassandra saw was _red._ “Here you are talking about truces and how we’re ‘stronger together’, only to accuse me of cold-blooded murder?!” She let out a high, disbelieving laugh, utterly devoid of any humor. “And to think, I was under the impression that you only ever saw the best in people! But I guess, the moment your trust is broken, you automatically assume the worst. Although, wait!” She held up a finger, a malicious smile stretched across her face. “You still gave Varian a second chance, and _he_ tried to murder your parents.” Her voice dropped down to a dark, bitter growl, “So I guess it’s just me then.” 

Rapunzel stood paralyzed, her pale face etched with fear that she was obviously trying and failing to hide. Her fists were clenched so hard they were shaking and her scared, green eyes were wide as she stared up at Cassandra towering over her. Pascal was hiding himself in the princess’s hair, his little hands held over his eyes as he trembled.

She felt something move against her and her sharp gaze snapped down to see Winzig freeze in her arms, his pale blue eyes stared up at her, alight with fear and panic. Cassandra felt her fury ebb slightly and she looked around. 

Black rocks had sprouted out of the ground all around her, pulsing with a sinister, angry, blue light and making the tunnel appear ominous and menacing. 

She glanced back at Winzig’s terrified face and, suddenly, all her anger drained away and the black spikes stopped glowing.

Well, almost all.

Clenching her teeth, she turned her back to Rapunzel once more, preparing to leave her and continue searching for the exit on her own, but, at that moment, her eyes caught on a small pinprick of light shining onto the rocks. Searching the opposite wall, she quickly spotted the little glint of sunshine coming from between two large stones. The wind whistled softly through the hole, promising freedom and fresh air.

Still holding the mirror, she gently put a hand over Winzig’s eyes and flicked a finger up, summoning several columns of black rocks to break the cave wall. The rubble creaked and groaned where the spikes held it up overhead, a small cloud of dust rose into the air.

They were greeted with the sight of tall trees and thick undergrowth. A breeze wafted through the cave, introducing the smell of wood and damp leaves to the stale cave air. Without a second glance, Cassandra strode out of the mountain and into the forest. 

“Goodbye, Rapunzel,” she called over her shoulder. She heard the princess yell something, but didn’t bother trying to listen as she pressed the mirror to her leg, creating a sheath around it from her armor, before snapping her fingers and making the black spikes fall back into the earth. A loud rumble filled the air as the weak cave wall cracked and crumbled, chunks of stone crashing to the ground, blocking the exit and sealing Rapunzel inside the mountain.

The sound broke Winzig out of his paralysis and the Steller’s jay looked up at the collapsed wall. The instant he seemed to comprehend what Cassandra had done, he immediately began screeching and struggling in her arms, his feathers ruffled and his crest fluffed out.

“Ack! Winzig, stop it!” she yelled, trying to keep her grip on the struggling bird without hurting his wing or his leg. Cassandra was very thankful, at that moment, that she was wearing armor because otherwise, she was sure his talons would’ve sliced her skin to ribbons by then.

Finally getting a good grip on him, she marched away from the mountain. “We’re leaving,” she said firmly, her remaining anger still sparking dangerously beneath her skin. She looked hard at Winzig as she walked. “And we are leaving _Rapunzel._ She can find her own way out.” She spoke the name with a growl and Winzig glanced up at her, his struggles slowing. 

“She doesn’t get to just come here and act all friendly, only to turn around and steal the only mirror that—” A lump formed in her throat and she had to swallow before restarting, “And steal _my_ mirror and then accuse me of _cold-blooded murder!_ I would never just kill someone for no…” Her voice died on her lips as doubts rose unbidden in her mind. 

_But it’s for your destiny. Wouldn’t you kill for your destiny? You already have. You killed Varian for your destiny. You sent him into the woods. Alone. Injured. Exhausted._

_And now he’s dead._

Cassandra started running. 

Rapunzel said he was still missing, she reminded herself a little desperately as she lurched through the underbrush.

 _But she also said they’ve searched everywhere. If she’s given up hope, then there is no hope. Varian is dead and it’s your fault. You killed him. You killed him for your_ destiny! _Are you happy now that they’re all paying with their lives? Are you reclaiming what’s rightfully yours? Are you truly so far gone that you believe their lives are yours to take? Was_ Varian’s _life yours to take?_

No, she didn’t kill him, it wasn’t her fau—

 _It is your fault! You killed him! You killed Varian! All for your destiny! Are you happy now? Now that you have blood on your hands, has your destiny been worth it so far? Has it been worth_ Varian? _It’s all for your destiny, so has it been worth it?_

 _Varian is_ DEAD! _And his blood is on your hands. He is_ dead _and it’s_ your _fault._

With her thoughts screaming at her, the world around Cassandra faded into a blur. She didn’t notice Winzig trilling and warbling in pain from her rough, stumbling sprint. She didn’t notice the hot tears beginning to well in her eyes. She didn’t notice the wild branches of the sticker bush reaching out across her path.

Cassandra let out a strangled yelp of surprise as her hair pulled at her scalp and she felt something catch on the exposed skin of her face. In her confused and distraught state, she stumbled forward and heard a rustling, tearing sound behind her accompanied by a sharp, searing pain across her cheek. 

Winzig screeched in shock as Cassandra’s foot hit something hard and she tumbled ungracefully onto the dirt. 

For a moment, everything was still as she lay on the ground, breathing heavily, her eyes closed.

It was a short moment.

Winzig warbled dazedly somewhere to her right and she heard him shuffle around in the leaves.

Slowly, Cassandra pushed herself up on shaky arms into a sitting position, groaning as she did so. Something warm dripped down her face and, confused, she lifted a hand to her cheek. Instead of warm skin, something cold, hard, and unfeeling brushed against her face and her eyes flew open in surprise to see it was only her armored fingers. The dappled sunlight filtering through the trees shone across the smooth black rock, making the dirt and leaves clinging to it all the more noticeable. 

She took a deep breath to collect herself, closing her eyes once more before reopening them. Cassandra willed the gauntlet to pull back from her hand and meld with the bracer on her forearm, exposing her rough, callused fingers. Gently, she brushed her fingertips across the stickiness on her face, hissing when it stung, before pulling back and examining them.

Trails of scarlet dripped down her fingers, painting her hand red. The sticky liquid accentuated old scars as it ran through the creases of her palm, tracing patterns across her skin. The ruby tracks glistened darkly against her pale complexion and a single thought echoed to the forefront of her mind.

_His blood is on your hands._

All at once, memories of Varian bombarded her head. 

His slack face after she knocked him out. His pained groan as he attempted to resist the truth serum. His strained voice as she forced him to, once again, betray his kingdom. His pleading eyes as he tried to get through to her. His scream of agony as _her_ rocks slammed into him. His anguished voice as he _begged_ her to stop hurting him. His nightmare-induced shrieks of fear and pain as they echoed through her tower. His betrayed expression when she’d lost control and hurt his ankle. 

His goggles flashed through her mind, broken and buried beneath the destruction she’d caused.

Hot tears rolled down Cassandra’s cheeks, stinging when they ran over the cut on her skin, but, despite this, not a single sound escaped her.

As she wallowed in her voiceless misery, her face transforming into a streaked, bloody canvas of grief, a small feathered head nudged her knee.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian didn’t know why the sight of blood wasn’t making him feel light-headed as it normally did—maybe it was a bird thing—, but what he did know was that Cassandra was crying.

Granted he’d seen her cry before, but not like this, not so openly. So _vulnerably._

And with that in mind, he did the only thing he could think of. Taking several cautious steps forward—his ankle twinged but he ignored it and chose to focus on Cassandra—, he nudged the woman’s knee with his head. 

If he couldn’t comfort her with words and ask her what was wrong, he could at least show her he was there.

Slowly, she looked up at him, lowering her bloodstained hand, and he was able to take in her appearance.

To put it bluntly, she was a mess. Her short, blue hair was tangled and frizzy, several thorns trapped in the knotted snarls, and her face was bloody and soaked with tears. Her piercing eyes were hollow as she gazed at him, filled with grief where they’d once been filled with purpose. 

“Sorry, Winzig,” she rasped softly, her voice tired and defeated.

Though he knew what she meant, Varian got the feeling she needed to say it, to just get everything out and explain herself, so he gave her a questioning chirp. 

She blew out a soft sigh, her eyes drifting to her lap where she’d rested her bloodstained hand. 

“I—” Her voice withered and died before she could say anything more, so he let out an encouraging chitter. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly as though she were about to smile before it dropped back down into a heavy frown. 

She sighed again. “It’s just… all of this,” she motioned to her armor and the Moonstone glowing faintly on her chest, “was supposed to be about reclaiming my life, my destiny. For years, I’ve been pushed over and ignored and overlooked and forgotten and—” Her voice rose steadily before she cut herself off and lowered it again. “I just… With Rapunzel, I was always kicked to the curb. I never got any recognition, it didn’t matter what I did or who I saved, it was always Rapunzel who got the credit. And I know that’s not supposed to matter, but…“ She made a helpless gesture.

Varian cooed at her empathetically. He could understand that in a way.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra had no idea why she was talking about Rapunzel. At the moment, she could care less about the blonde-haired princess.

But, for whatever reason, she continued on about the girl anyway. “It was supposed to be about reclaiming what Rapunzel stole from me. Reclaiming my destiny.” 

Varian’s pained, pleading expression flickered through her mind, his desperate voice echoed in her ears as he asked her if he could go home.

But she knew now that he never would.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Gah!” Cassandra suddenly yelled, hunching over and grabbing her head in her hands. 

Startled, Varian stumbled back a bit before stepping toward her again, wincing slightly as his ankle continued to throb. At the moment, he was choosing to ignore his wing for as long as possible, but _holy Demanitus_ — No. No, don’t think about it, Varian, your wing is fine.

He chirred at her softly and she slowly looked up, still gripping her head tightly between her hands. She looked as though she was falling apart at the seams, like she would simply crumble to dust at any given moment.

“I can’t get Varian out of my head,” she whispered in a thin, thready voice, her eyes filled with torment. “I killed him and I can’t get his face out of my head.” 

Whilst normally Varian would be focusing on the fact that Cassandra apparently believed she killed him, his mind caught on something else.

_His face._

Varian had never hated and loved his stupid, genius brain more than he did in that moment. 

He was such an _idiot!_

A genius idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.

He’d been so hung up on the fact that he couldn’t speak or read or write, that he’d forgotten what he _could_ do!

Quickly, ignoring the ache in his ankle, Varian started scratching his talons in the dirt, the excitement building in his chest like a beaker of Quirineon threatening to blow. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Winzig, what on _Earth_ are you doing?” Cassandra asked, utterly confused. 

She sniffed hard, trying to stem the flow of tears, before bending over the Steller’s jay.

He warbled enthusiastically and continued scratching at the ground. 

“Is it a worm or something?” she asked incredulously. 

Winzig gave her a disgusted look over his shoulder and, had it been any other day, she would’ve laughed at his apparent un-birdlike aversion to worms. He turned back to the dirt and she furrowed her brow as she leaned in closer to try and figure out what he was doing.

At first glance, it appeared as though he were merely scratching lines into the soil, but the longer Cassandra watched him, the wider her eyes grew.

Winzig, a mere bird, was _drawing._

He was drawing _Varian._

A choked noise escaped her and Winzig looked up at her face, he whistled the automaton melody and, somehow, the normally dark, ominous tune sounded… hopeful.

The Steller’s jay looked back at the drawing and made a few more additions, adding the alchemist’s shoulders and drawing _Ruddiger_ curled around them. 

She pulled her eyes away from the picture and gazed at the back of the absolutely _mystifying_ bird.

Every time she turned around, he did something new that was just utterly perplexing. First his rather extreme reaction to the black rocks… Then his panic when she caught his ankle with her makeshift pole… How he knew when the cabinet would explode… And then again with the gas… 

…Varian had experimented with the black rocks before with… unpleasant results. And he knew all about chemicals… 

She’d seen Ruddiger help Varian in his lab before, so he would’ve _had_ to teach the raccoon at least a few things… like how to recognize dangerous chemicals, for instance. 

Who’s to say he didn’t do the same with Winzig? She wouldn’t put it past the alchemist to have taught the bird how to draw either. And if Winzig had been there during the whole black rock fiasco, he would’ve seen all the horrors associated with the rocks’ infestation.

“Winzig?” she asked tentatively. He turned toward her eagerly, his eyes shining with excitement.

“Did you- Did you know Varian?” she asked. She held her breath, waiting for the bird’s imploring eyes to grow heavy with sorrow at the past tense she used for the boy he’d seemingly known.

Instead, his light blue eyes filled with exasperation, his feathers fluffing out with impatience as he buried his head under his wing. 

Furrowing her brow at his strange reaction, Cassandra looked over at the drawing he’d made as if it would provide her with the answer.

Varian was drawn in near-perfect likeness to the real boy, from the upturn of his nose to the shape of his eyebrows. His freckles were placed exactly. His odd stripe of hair just the right size. 

However, _this_ alchemist stared at her through lifeless, brown eyes, so very different from his earnest, light… blue… 

Cassandra made a strangled noise as she looked back up at the Steller’s jay, who was watching her warily, almost as if he were afraid of what she would say. 

All the pieces of the whole baffling puzzle seemed to slide right into place as she gaped at him. 

The single blue feather on his crest and the white speckles on his face were suddenly all the more prominent as she stared into his _light blue_ eyes.

As she stared, not into the eyes of a simple bird, but into the eyes of a teenage boy.

“Varian?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good job to BandedBright for guessing right about Varian still being able to draw!
> 
> I feel like Varian would be the type of person who, when someone does something stupid, would say, "You _iiiidiots!_ " and, like, draw the "i" out really long. I can't remember what that's from, but, regardless, I think Varian would do it. XD
> 
> And why didn't Cass just put out the fire with her rocks? I mean, Rapunzel was completely okay with her using them when they were escaping, but why not just cut the problem off at the source instead of continuously risking the mountain's integrity?
> 
> Also.  
> I hope I killed you all with that chapter ending!! Mwahahahaaaa!!!  
> I can't wait to kill you all again with this other chapter ending I have planned out! (EEEEEEEE! I'm so excited about it and I haven't even written it yet!)
> 
> (Just to clarify, cause there are always those people out there, I mean "kill you" in the figurative sense.)
> 
> Comments, kudos, feedback, and predictions are welcomed with virtual hugs and handshakes!


	10. The Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It was as though she were being stalked by a beast, except she knew the beast had already caught her. Already torn her to shreds. Already ripped her to pieces. Already clawed her to bits and left her to rot.  
> Until there was nothing left but guilt."  
> . . . .  
> "At that moment, something behind Cassandra's eyes became more prominent. Something _angry_. Something roaring and raging, begging to be set loose.  
> And Varian wasn’t sure he wanted to be there when it broke free."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry it took so long to update despite this being such a short chapter but I got in a car accident and got a concussion and a little whiplash so I’ve been stressing out about school and sports and constant headaches. I’m not technically supposed to be spending so much time staring at a screen, but yeah.... 🤫 (FYI, it wasn’t a bad crash, someone just slammed into the girl behind us and then she got pushed into us and it kinda dominoed from there. But no one got seriously injured and the dog is fine so we’re all good.) 
> 
> This is honestly mostly a filler chapter, but I needed to get all this stuff outta the way to get ready for the more fast-paced, action-packed chapters.
> 
> Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Winzig— _Varian_ trilled so happily at that moment, Cassandra thought it might kill her.

It was just… It was _Varian._ He was _alive._ She hadn’t killed him.

She should feel exhilarated, overjoyed, _happy,_ but… 

All she could feel was guilt.

It tore up her insides like a savage, merciless beast. Ripping through her heart with serrated claws. Gnawing at her mind with jagged teeth. Consuming her thoughts with ruthless abandon. 

How could she have been such a fool? How could she have been so blind? How could she have not realized?

Her mind was a whirlwind of chaos and turmoil, but one thing remained constant: _guilt._

Everything was soaked in it, drenched and dripping. All her thoughts tainted, all her emotions tarnished. It was everywhere. It was all over. She couldn’t push it away this time because there was nowhere for it to go. No place it wasn’t already festering. No corner it wasn’t already lurking. No crack, no crevice, no nook, no cranny. 

It was everywhere. It was all over.

It was as though she were being stalked by a beast, except she knew the beast had already caught her. Already ripped her to pieces. Already torn her to shreds. Already clawed her to bits and left her to rot.

Until there was nothing left but guilt.

All-consuming, all-knowing, inescapable _guilt._

Cassandra had treated Varian like a _pet!_ She’d been in his presence for over twenty-four hours and only then had she begun to suspect anything was amiss! If Varian hadn’t been able to reach her through the drawings, she likely would’ve continued living in ignorance.

Rapunzel and Eugene… She should’ve sensed something wasn’t right. Varian had lived in Corona all his life, he wouldn’t just get _lost!_

Instead, he’d been alone, trapped in the body of a bird for days, and she’d only patted his head and fed him nuts. All those little chirps and trills… He could’ve been crying out for help, begging her to notice, screaming at her to _realize who he was._

And all she’d managed to recognize was that accursed automaton melody.

How could she have not noticed?

Cassandra‘s gaze caught on Winz— _Varian’s_ crumpled wing. 

His _left_ wing. 

That was from her. _She_ was the one who did that to him. Before, every time she’d looked at the injury, she’d always felt this strange, confusing guilt. 

And now she knew why. 

Suddenly, everything he’d done made sense. Horrible, crushing, painful sense. The reason he acted so strangely around her rocks, his panic when she’d caught him by the ankle, when she’d caught him with a _manacle_.

The reason he’d been so desperate to get to Rapunzel, to get away from _her_.

Because Cassandra only ever hurt him. 

It was all because of her. 

It was all her fault.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

It worked! 

Cassandra knew who he was! She could help him! They could go find Rapunzel and make him human again! He could go home and see his dad and Ruddiger!

Another thought struck him. He could have ham sandwiches! And hot chocolate! Oh, it had been too long since he’d tasted its sweet, delicious flavor! He hadn’t even gotten to finish the beaker Ruddiger made for him before… 

Varian’s high spirits dulled slightly as he was brought back to the present. His wing twinged and his ankle throbbed in a cruel reminder of his situation.

But then his stomach rumbled at the mention of ham sandwiches and his positive mood returned.

It was almost too good to be true! He didn’t think he’d been this happy, this _optimistic_ , in a long time. Before, it’d felt as though he’d been stuck without direction, without hope, without _knowing._

Oh, Varian hadn’t _known_ anything for so long. He hadn’t known what was going to happen to him. He hadn’t known what _had_ happened to him. He hadn’t known what he was going to do. He hadn’t known what he _could_ do. 

He hadn’t been able to plan his next steps because he hadn’t known where he was standing. 

But now he did. And now he knew what to do.

…Sort of. 

It was a work in progress.

But, by Demanitus, Varian would get it working. He was an alchemist after all.

His optimistic thoughts were interrupted, however, when he felt something warm splash onto his head. 

Varian’s crest fluffed out in surprise and he shook himself slightly to get rid of the wetness. Looking up, he saw— 

Why was Cassandra still crying?

The woman’s eyes were squeezed shut, her jaw clenched and her shoulders hunched. Her expression was pained but it wasn’t tormented as it had been before. Or at least, not in the same way. 

Before, she’d been grieving—over _him_ , Varian reminded himself, an odd lump forming in his throat—, but now… 

Now, her tears were a mystery.

Varian hopped a little closer, warbling in confusion. 

Cassandra opened her damp eyes to stare at him, blood and tears still dripping down her cheeks. “Varian,” she whispered. 

He felt a thrill run through him at the sound of his name, he hadn’t been called “Varian” in... Well, only two days, but that was beside the point.

“I’m so, _so_ sorry,” Cassandra continued, her tears coming faster now. 

Oh.

_Oh._

She felt _guilty._ So that’s what this was all about.

“C’mon, Cassandra, now’s not really the time to regain your conscience,” he chattered weakly, trying for humor. “We’ve gotta figure out how to fix me first, then you can apologize.”

But at the sound of the automaton melody, she only buried her face in her hands.

“Look, Cassandra, this isn’t your fault,” he chirruped, bumping his head against her knee. “It was that creepy little spirit-girl who turned me into a bird,” he told her, suppressing a shiver at the painful memory.

Cassandra looked up. “Win— Varian, whatever you’re saying, I can’t- I can’t understand you,” she said, her voice sounding absolutely devastated. “I’m so sorry.”

“Argh!” Varian exclaimed, beginning to feel slightly irritated with the lack of action. “Cassandra, now is not the time for a pity party, you can throw one _after_ we go find Rapunzel and fix me.” He broke off for a moment before adding, “And while you’re at it, could you two please make up? ‘Cause this whole ‘she said, she stole’ thing is tiring, and I don’t want to have to end up trying to fight you or Rapunzel or anything, so...” Varian trailed off awkwardly, unsure as to where he was going with that statement. 

Cassandra only gave him a helpless look. “Can’t you write it out?” She paused, furrowing her brow in confusion. “Wait, why haven’t you done that before?”

“Ugh!” Varian let out a long, defeated groan, though all that came out was a low chirr, and he threw up his wing in exasperation before backing away and beginning to pace. 

His ankle stung in protest at the constant movement and he could feel a headache building behind his eyes, but, at the moment, he was choosing to ignore both of those things through sheer stubbornness. “Of course, I can’t just write out what I’m trying to say!” Varian yelled to the air, his tone verging on hysteria. “Because that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? _No_ , little miss demon girl just had to—” He stopped and felt the sudden urge to kick himself. 

…But his ankle wouldn’t have allowed that, so he settled for face-palming—face-winging?—with a single, self-deprecating laugh. “Varian, you absolute idiot, you’ve done it again.”

He hopped over to the mediocre self-portrait of him and Ruddiger. Swiping the drawing out of the dirt with his wing, he set about scratching a new face into the soil. A face that would be taking up permanent residence within his nightmares right next to Andrew and the amber.

Cassandra glanced up at him again and, seeing that he was sketching something new, leaned in a little closer. 

Varian paid her no mind and continued with his chicken scratch drawing. 

Hah, “chicken scratch”, that was a good one. 

Large eyes formed beneath his talons, followed by thin eyebrows and a small, upturned nose. 

A malicious, inhuman, _insane_ smile curled across the drawing’s face.

Cassandra sucked in a breath, glancing up at him. “What does she… Why…?” 

Varian gestured emphatically to the face and then to himself. 

Her electric blue eyes widened. “Did _she_ do this to you?”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian gave Cassandra a single nod.

But it was enough to freeze the guilt squeezing her heart and infecting her mind.

Before melting it into something much more deadly.

It coiled tightly within her muscles, tense and waiting. Crouching silent within her head, still and poised. 

Cassandra may be a fool, but that didn’t mean she would let people get away with playing her like one. 

And there was one person who’d apparently been playing her like a fiddle.

But the show was over, and this time, it was the _piper_ who would pay.

Or rather, the _fiddler_.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra’s face went stone-cold in the blink of an eye, her tears drying up and her gaze hardening. 

Her clenched fists were the only sign of her anger.

It was disconcerting how she did that, how she just shut everything off.

She’d done it when she first kidnapped him, when she led Varian through her tower with shackles on his wrists and the truth serum on his tongue.

Cassandra held out her unbloodied hand palm-up in front of him. Her hard eyes betrayed none of her thoughts or intentions.

Suddenly hesitant, Varian stayed where he was. “What are we doing?” he warbled tentatively.

Despite not actually being able to understand him, Cassandra seemed to get the gist. “We’re going back to the tower,” she said vaguely.

“Wait, what?” Varian didn’t understand, why were they going to the tower? Rapunzel was back at the mountain. That is unless she’d already gotten out, which, knowing the princess, she probably had.

He glanced at the canopy above them, trying to determine the sun’s position through the leaves. Spotting a more concentrated area of sunshine between the branches, Varian estimated that it was either late afternoon or early evening. 

Looking back at Cassandra, he chirped at her, “We can still catch Rapunzel. If anyone could fix me, it’d be her.”

“Varian, I don’t know what you’re saying,” she reminded him. “Look, we need to go back to the tower, that’s where the ghost-girl is—”

“Which is exactly why we _don’t_ want to go there,” Varian chattered.

Cassandra continued, heedless of his interruption, “—and I’m not going to let her think she can just get away with—” Her voice had risen angrily before she suddenly broke off with a deep inhale, closing her eyes. After a second of silence, she looked back at him, her eyes cold and bitter. “Nevermind. The point is, if she’s the one who turned you into a bird, then she’s the one who can turn you back.”

“But I…” Varian couldn’t deny her logic. Because that’s what it was: logical. If he was being honest with himself, he really just didn’t want to see the girl again. With her large, sharp eyes and unnatural, sadistic smile… Varian shuddered. The very notion of encountering her again made every thought in his brain screech to a halt and scream “ _Run!_ ” 

But… as much as hated to admit it, going to Rapunzel really didn’t make that much sense. How could she help him become human again if they didn’t even know how exactly he became a _bird?_

So, with a heavy heart and a heavy sigh, Varian hopped onto Cassandra’s hand and resigned himself to confronting the demonic little girl.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra approached the black tower like a silent storm, barely able to restrain herself from simply charging into the spire of rocks and strangling the former spirit.

But she managed. Barely.

Varian was perched on her shoulder, still and quiet. 

She hardly noticed him.

Her white-knuckled fists were the only indication of the furious beast she was keeping locked tight within.

Though Cassandra wasn’t sure how much longer that lock would last.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

As they drew closer to the ominous tower, Varian shifted on Cassandra’s shoulder, looking away from the structure. His ankle throbbed and he winced before reminding himself harshly to ignore it. 

He glanced back up at the dark spire and then at Cassandra, Varian could already tell that whatever she was planning to try and do to the small girl wouldn’t end well. Whether it was simply confronting her and cutting ties or… killing her. 

Regardless, it wouldn’t end well.

Throughout the short—but extremely painful and traumatic—time he’d known the small, sadistic girl, she had always radiated this sense of ancient power. Like some great, nameless horror from a long-forgotten legend. 

It scared him.

Abruptly, his anxious musings were cut off as his eyes caught on something shiny on the ground.

“Cassandra,” he chattered, scratching his talons against the armor on the woman’s shoulder to get her attention.

“ _What_ , Varian?” she growled, irritation coloring her tone as she whipped her head around to look at him. 

He couldn’t stop the violent flinch that ran through him at the anger in her voice and the sight of her wrathful, blue eyes. Averting his gaze, he gestured with his wing toward the shiny thing on the ground.

Pursing her lips, Cassandra changed directions and headed toward the object of interest. As they got closer, Varian furrowed his brow—well, as much as he could with avian facial muscles.

To put it bluntly, the shiny object looked like a piece of Cassandra’s mirror. It had the same elegantly crafted, white border and it was reflective as well.

Apparently, Cassandra felt the same because she gasped softly and crouched down to pick it up. Without taking her eyes off the fragment, she used her other hand to pull the rest of the mirror out of its makeshift sheath on her leg. 

She held them both up in front of her, studying the fragment next to the broken mirror. The silence stretched on unbearably as she regarded the objects for a long moment.

“See if it fits,” Varian urged her, not wanting to simply sit there in his growing confusion because _why in Demanitus’s name did a roughly twenty-year-old mirror shard just happen to be right there?_

Suffice to say, he was not appreciating all of these _magically_ convenient coincidences. He had his questions, now he wanted his answers.

He watched with bated breath as Cassandra pressed the shard into the jagged fissure.

…And it fits!

Why did it fit?

Why was it _here?_

Heck, he should really be asking “ _how_ was it here?”.

Cassandra tentatively tapped the surface of the mirror and Gothel and the young Cassandra appeared. The memory played as it had before except, this time, it continued after little Cassandra left the frame.

As soon as the girl was out of sight, Gothal let out a long, low groan, her motherly demeanor dropping in an instant. The woman glared resentfully after Cassandra. “Hopefully that’ll keep her out of my hair for a while.” Her eyes glinted with bitterness and her mouth twisted hatefully. “Lousy little _pest_ ,” she growled under her breath as she stood up and stalked away. 

The image faded, leaving Cassandra’s heartbroken expression on its reflective surface. 

Varian wasn’t quite sure how to react to that. Why would anyone treat their child so… 

He couldn’t even think of the proper term for the way Gothel had treated Cassandra. Why did she even have a child in the first place if she only saw them as a nuisance?

All of a sudden, Varian felt Cassandra’s weight transfer to her other foot as she brought her arm back and threw the mirror, sending it sailing through the air. Just before it hit the ground, she slammed her fist into her palm and a glowing spike of black rock shot out of the ground and shattered it. 

Varian’s breath stuttered, his eyes going wide and unfocused. His ankle throbbed in time with his pounding heart and his wing sparked with pain, he squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as he could.

_Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it._

Something brushed against his head and his eyes snapped open in a panic only to see it was Cassandra’s fingers stroking his crest, her gaze apologetic.

He took a deep, shuddering breath before giving her a small nod of reassurance. Her eyes lingered on him for a few more seconds before she looked back at the smashed remains of the mirror scattered around the black spike.

At that moment, something in Cassandra’s expression shifted, something behind her eyes became more prominent. Something _angry_. Something roaring and raging, begging to be set loose.

And Varian wasn’t sure he wanted to be there when it broke free. Because he had no doubt that, whatever happened, the rage-filled _thing_ in Cassandra’s eyes would not be willing to remain caged forever.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Zhan Tiri grinned from where she stood in the shadows outside the tower, watching everything fall into place. 

Well, for the most part. 

She hadn’t accounted for Cassandra figuring out Varian’s true identity, but it was no matter. She had already been planning out the ultimatum she would give the woman, but her knowledge of Varian’s presence gave Zhan Tiri something better to work with.

Yes, all she needed to do was give the Moonstone Wielder a deadline, one that she couldn’t afford to miss.

Zhan Tiri grinned wider as her gaze fell on Varian’s small form perched on Cassandra’s shoulder. 

Though Cassandra didn’t know it yet, the clock was already ticking down, and _his_ time was running out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassie here is _pissed._ (Excuse my French).
> 
> FYI, I used "chicken scratch" meaning "very, messy handwriting/sketching".
> 
> Comment, kudos, feedback, & predictions are immensely appreciated! Let me know if there are any typos or spelling errors as well!


	11. The Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No. It wasn’t possible. It did not, in any way, follow the rules of science. Logic dictated that… that…  
> But Varian found he couldn’t deny the awful truth presenting itself to him."  
> . . . .  
> "'You know, Cassandra, you really ought to learn to control that temper of yours.' Zhan Tiri grinned as if telling an inside joke. 'Someone might get hurt.'  
> Something snapped within Cassandra’s mind and she heard herself scream with unbridled rage.  
> The beast had finally broken free."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Miss Demon Lady's back! Yaaay... 
> 
> Ok, so I don't want pity, but I just need to vent for a minute, so y'all can just skip this part:  
> I've had a really rough year, not even counting any of the general 2020 stuff. My friends got in a fight & aren't ever going to make up (b/c it's been nearly a year now & nothing's been resolved), I crashed during my triathlon, I got my wisdom teeth out & a screw put in my jaw, I got the screw taken back out (b/c the bone rejected it), I got a bone graft (b/c I didn't have enough bone in my jaw), the bone graft made me swell a whole bunch & gave me a black eye (during Halloween, might I add, so I couldn't have any candy), I got in a car accident on my way to school, said car accident gave me a concussion, so I can't go to sports practice therefore my chances of qualifying for state are at an all time low, & and to top it all off, my guinea pig just died.  
> All right the rant is over, sorry for taking so much space with this. :p
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Zhan Tiri was lounging on the throne of black rocks when, suddenly, the spikes began creaking and groaning loudly as they warped and contorted around her. 

The demon sighed boredly as she waited for them to finish. After another moment, the spikes settled and she was completely trapped upon the throne within a circular cage of twisted black rocks. 

Echoing footsteps sounded in front of Zhan Tiri and she looked up at the figure coming up the stairs to the dais, raising an eyebrow. 

“Really, Cassandra,” she chided loftily. “If you wanted to talk about your feelings, you could’ve just asked.”

The Wielder of the Moonstone ignored her jibe and crossed the remaining distance between them without breaking stride. 

Zhan Tiri’s eyes drifted to where Varian’s stiff form was perched on Cassandra’s shoulder, noticing with faint gratification that he was avoiding her gaze. 

Cassandra stopped in front of the cage, her arms crossed and her expression set in a glower. 

“Tell me,” she began, her voice quavering with barely restrained rage. “How did a piece of one of my mother’s mirrors end up at my tower?”

Zhan Tiri only grinned at the woman. She saw Varian watching her out of the corner of his eye and turned to smile at him. 

He looked away. 

“And, while you’re at it,” Cassandra continued. “How about you explain to me why Varian is a _bird?_ ” She gestured angrily to the boy on her shoulder.

The demon felt her grin split her face in half and she clapped excitedly, startling both Cassandra and Varian. “Good for you, Cassandra!” she exclaimed as if congratulating a small child who had just learned to count. “I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would take you to catch on!” Zhan Tiri turned to Varian. “You must not be very good at giving hints,” she smirked at him, “if it took her nearly two days to figure everything out.” She clucked her tongue disapprovingly, ignoring his high-pitched trill of outrage.

The black cage creaked threateningly as its walls shifted around her.

She gave Cassandra an unimpressed look and, to her delight, the fury in the Moonstone Wielder’s gaze’s only burned hotter as something in her eyes roared at the demon.

“What do you get out of this?” Cassandra spat, ignoring the demon’s taunts. The woman’s eyes narrowed and her words dripped with venom. “Just who exactly are you?”

Zhan Tiri tapped her finger against her chin as though she were in deep thought before gesturing between herself and Cassandra. “We’re not so different, you and I,” she told her. “We were both cheated out of our destinies. If you think about it, we’re more like sisters than you and Rapunzel ever were. We even want the same thing. And we can get it,” she leveled the woman with a serious look, “if you defeat Rapunzel once and for all and seize the Sundrop.”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

_Cheated out of our destinies… Seize the Sundrop…_

_…Cheated… Destiny… Sundrop…_

Varian had read every book on Demanitus that he could get his hands on. He’d even read the old—definitely fictitious—lore books on the man. One of the stories that always stuck with him—mostly because of how laughably unrealistic it was—had been about Demanitus’s confrontation with the demon, Zhan Tiri. 

The legend described how Zhan Tiri had ranted and raved at Demanitus, convinced that he had turned his back on her and forgotten their quest for the Sundrop and Moonstone.

She’d believed it was her _destiny_ to become the wielder of both the Sundrop _and_ the Moonstone. And she believed she’d been cheated out of that destiny.

And now… 

But that had been centuries ago… 

Only… 

No. It wasn’t possible. It did not, in any way, follow the rules of science. Logic dictated that… that… 

But Varian found he couldn’t deny the awful truth presenting itself to him.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

The Wielder of the Moonstone went to retort, her lip curled in a snarl, but, suddenly, Varian let out a small, chirruping gasp. 

Cassandra glanced at the boy in concern, and Zhan Tiri smiled knowingly. “I believe Varian here has figured something out,” she said. “Care to share, Varian?”

The alchemist didn’t move, standing frozen with his talons gripping Cassandra’s armor as though he were afraid of falling off. His light blue eyes were wide with fear and disbelief as they locked onto the demon’s face. 

He let out a high-pitched, strangled chirp, still staring at her in horror.

“Oh, my apologies,” Zhan Tiri said with a light laugh. She murmured a counterspell under her breath, and suddenly, Varian’s quiet, fearful voice sounded from the bird’s throat.

“Zhan Tiri,” he breathed before starting in shock at the sound of his human voice. 

Cassandra whipped her head around to gape at him, wide-eyed. She took a few steps back down the stairs as his words seemed to sink in.

“Yes, yes, you can speak now,” the demon interrupted before either of them could say anything else. “I don’t see any more reason to keep you mute, so…” She gestured to the air wearily, her tone bored.

She glanced at Cassandra and was annoyed to find the woman glaring at her with a look of revulsion and oh-so-familiar, but oh-so- _tiresome_ , fury.

“Oh, quit pretending you’re horrified,” Zhan Tiri snapped, throwing her a reproachful look.

Cassandra’s face tightened at her words. Predictably, she raised her arm before closing her fist and pulling it to her chest in one quick, fluid motion, making the cage begin to contract around the demon. 

“Really, Cassandra, this is rather insulting,” Zhan Tiri said with mock hurt before her face fell into a smirk as she closed her eyes and let the shadows in the cage wash over her.

The demon heard Cassandra gasp, and Varian stuttered, “But- How did- Where-?”

She chuckled at their confusion. “I have been in far worse prisons,” she reminded them as she stepped out from behind the throne. 

Cassandra took a few involuntary steps back before throwing her hand forward with a growl and making a wave of black rocks shoot out of the floor, heading towards the demon.

The demon couldn’t help but roll her eyes, this was getting pathetic. 

With a longsuffering sigh, she waited until the shadows cast by the rocks fell over her before melting into the darkness once more.

“I don’t have time for this, Cassandra,” she said, striding out of a dim corner. Her gaze flicked towards Varian, who was looking at the rocks with wide, unfocused eyes, and a sharp grin sliced across her face, “Or rather, _he_ doesn’t have time for this.”

That stopped the Wielder of the Moonstone right in her tracks. She blanched and glanced at Varian before turning her head to look back at Zhan Tiri through narrowed eyes. “What did you do?” she snarled, drawing her sword and brandishing it at the demon.

Zhan Tiri laughed, high and breathy, at the fury raging in the woman’s eyes. “I believe you’re familiar with a certain _magical_ teapot, correct?” 

It appeared to take Cassandra a moment to comprehend what she was referring to, though as soon as understanding lit in her eyes, confusion took its place as well.

“The effects only last an hour, it’s been two days,” the Moonstone Wielder reminded Zhan Tiri, though her voice held a note of uncertainty.

“You are quite right,” the demon conceded before giving her a wolfish grin. “Only, I altered the spell to last, oh, three days or so.” She tilted her hand as if to say “give or take”. 

At that, Varian finally spoke up, “So, what? I’ve only got, like, thirty hours before I—” The words seemed to get stuck in Varian’s throat, and his light blue eyes filled with despair.

“Mmm, I didn’t give you that much, so maybe a little less, if I had to guess,” Zhan Tiri told him as if they were discussing the price of a horse. 

It was then that Cassandra lost her composure. 

With a cry of rage, the woman lept off the remaining steps toward Zhan Tiri, swinging her sword in a swift arc. 

The demon calmly stepped back into the shadows of the corner, letting her body shift and warp into the darkness. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

When Zhan Tiri disappeared, Cassandra kept her swing going and used the momentum to whirl around in one smooth movement. She stopped with her back to the wall, knees bent and shoulder-width apart, braced for a counterattack. 

When nothing came at her, she readjusted her hands on the leather grip of her sword, settling them into a more comfortable position.

A tense silence filled the air, only disrupted by Cassandra’s steady breaths.

Varian shifted uneasily, his talons tightly gripping the black rock spaulder covering her shoulder.

Cassandra didn’t move from her stance, but her eyes darted around, watching for anything that might give away the demon’s position. Blood roared in her ears while the furious beast roared in her head, and her muscles tensed as she felt the air shift to her right. 

Spinning to the side, she moved to parry the oncoming blow but was met with only empty air. Creasing her brow in concentration, Cassandra calmed her breathing and turned in a slow circle to study the area.

A high peal of laughter unexpectedly rang through the throne room, echoing off the walls and reverberating through her skull. Despite herself, Cassandra jumped at the sound, and Varian made a strangled sound, though she couldn’t tell if it was a bird noise or a human one.

Once the laughter faded, the silence that followed was suddenly too silent. It didn’t ring in her head, it didn’t buzz in her ears, it didn’t whisper against her skin. This silence had no weight. It was _silent_. Never in her life had Cassandra _not_ heard a single thing. No matter where she was, it had never genuinely been silent, there was always _something_ making noise _somewhere_. 

But this was different. Now, it truly felt as if there was no sound left. 

Somewhere in the back of Cassandra’s mind, she wondered if this was what it was like to be deaf.

The absolute silence dragged on, but again, there was no weight to it. It didn’t press down on her, it didn’t overwhelm her, it didn’t do _anything_. 

It was simply _silent_. 

She was beginning to hate it.

Then, as if hearing her thoughts, the silence suddenly broke. 

It wasn’t a loud noise, but it was there. The faint rustle of fabric just behind her.

But before she could react to the soft sound, Varian screeched on her shoulder and his weight disappeared.

She snapped around to see nothing but empty air.

“Varian?” she yelled, trying to bury her rising panic so she could remain focused. 

There was a torturously long pause before Varian’s terrified voice faded into existence. “...Let _go!_ ” 

Out of nowhere, a small, dark object came flying out of the shadows stretched across the floor in front of her. On instinct, she dropped her sword, which landed with a clang, before reaching out and catching the object with both hands. 

“Ack! Varian! Stop— Calm down!” she commanded, trying to keep from dropping him as he flailed around in her grip. 

At the sound of her voice, the boy halted his frantic struggles and slowly opened his eyes to look up at her. “Oh, it’s you,” he breathed out in relief after a moment. Closing his eyes again, Varian slumped in her hands as he caught his breath. “Oh, thank the Sun, the Moon, and all the Stars above. I never ever, ever want to do that ever again,” he declared, raising a wing in exhausted resolution.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” a girlish voice sighed sadly behind them. “I find it rather fun. Are you sure you don’t want to try it at least one more time?”

The beast began raging within Cassandra’s head once more and she whirled around with a furious yell, flinging out an arm. As she spun, a ripple of black spikes tore through the ground, converging on Zhan Tiri.

The rocks slammed into each other with a cracking boom that made the floor quake and the air vibrate. 

She felt Varian’s heart begin to beat faster beneath her fingers and went to— To what? Apologize? She didn’t even know, and she never would because, at that moment, Zhan Tiri reappeared from behind the throne.

“You know, Cassandra, you really ought to learn to control that temper of yours.” She grinned as if telling an inside joke. “Someone might get hurt.”

Something snapped within Cassandra’s mind and she heard herself a wild scream of unbridled rage. 

The beast had finally broken free.

Black rocks of all sizes erupted out of the floor, walls, and ceiling quicker than a striking cobra before sinking back down just as fast and then exploding out again at random. The spikes appeared to ripple and pulse as they filled the room with a bright, throbbing, blue glow that made the air hum as if electrified. 

It looked like the room itself was moving. Like it was breathing. Like its heart was beating. 

It looked like it was _alive_. 

Power thrummed through her body, stemming from the Moonstone on her chest, and adrenaline surged through her veins, feeding her rage, feeding the beast.

A delighted laugh echoed through the chaos and Cassandra whipped toward it, calling a spike to pick up her sword and bring it to her hand. She charged at the demon, letting out another furious cry. 

Zhan Tiri only smiled in amusement before she disappeared into the shadows again. 

Cassandra couldn’t hold back the scream of frustration that ripped itself from her throat. She spun around, searching for the accursed demon girl, her breathing coming in heavy pants as the room pulsed around her. 

She sensed something move by her feet and swung her sword at it without a thought. 

A piercing scream of raw terror rang through the air as her blade struck something solid and sank in.

Everything went stock-still.

Cassandra choked on horror as her breathing stuttered and her heart pounded against her ribcage, adrenaline making her whole body shake as she looked at the ground to see Varian lying limply at her feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> XDDDD  
> I'm laughing my head off imagining you guys's reactions. Ahahahahahaaa!
> 
> Whew! I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. I wrote and rewrote and edited and altered and, man, it was rough. I will say, though, that it got more and more violent with each rewrite. XD  
> All in all, I think I'm happy with the end result and I hope you enjoyed it as well!
> 
> Ya know, reading through this, Zhan Tiri smirks a lot. Like, I kept trying to find synonyms for it, but "sneer" and "jeer" just didn't fit. I feel like when she's mocking someone, Zhan Tiri doesn't ever really drop the smile; hence the excessive smirking in this chapter.  
> Idk, I just felt like talking about that.
> 
> For reference, I picture Zhan Tiri acting like Pitch Black in Rise of the Guardians with the shadows and everything. For this story, in her current form, she's a bit more powerful than she is in the show. :)
> 
> FYI, how Varian got on the floor will be promptly explained in Chapter 12.
> 
> Comments, kudos, constructive criticism, and predictions are thoroughly appreciated!


	12. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Something whistled through the air and Varian found his eyes drifting in the direction of the sound.  
> Adrenaline suddenly flooded through his veins and his heart hammered against his rib cage, making his head pound harder and his chest squeeze painfully. He let out a scream of fear as his gaze locked onto the blade of black rocks swinging toward him, its purpose clear and unmistakable."  
> . . . .  
> "'This isn’t a promise, Varian, this an oath. Because I swear to you by both the Sun and the Moon that I will make this right, I will make it up to you, and I will never hurt you again.'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Panic attacks, injury description, descriptions of vomit.
> 
> As you can probably tell from the trigger warning, this chapter has.... _issues_...
> 
> Anyways! Enjoy the chapter!!!

Varian couldn’t believe it. 

Cassandra actually _dropped_ him. She was lucky he didn’t land on his wing!

However, his indignity was brought screeching to a halt as an animalistic scream rent the air and the room exploded. 

. . . . . .

. . . . .

. . . .

. . .Varian couldn’t move… 

He couldn’t… move… 

He couldn’t move… fast enough… 

He couldn’t get out of the way.

It was going to hit him.

Hit his shoulder and throw him into the air. Make him slam into the ground. Land on his hand.

Snap his fingers in tiny explosions of agony.

“No… No. No. Nonononono. No, not again. Not again, please no. Please, not again.”

He couldn’t do it again. 

He couldn’t… 

He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t breathe!

Varian gasped desperately but there was no air. His throat felt raspy and dry. His head was pounding through his skull as his lungs constricted, burning with the need for… 

Burning…

Burning pain… 

Freezing pain.

It hurt!

Make it stop hurting! 

“Go away! _Please_ , go away! Leave me alone! Make it stop!”

A delighted laugh echoed in Varian’s ears and he stumbled. 

His lungs screamed and his head throbbed. His legs felt weak and his ankle ached. His fingers sparked and prickled with a thousand needles of unadulterated agony. The ground cracked and ruptured around him, falling to pieces as the black rocks consumed the world.

Consumed Old Corona… 

Consumed his dad… 

“Nononononono.”

Varian fell to the ground, burying his face in his hands.

Only, his face didn’t feel right. It wasn’t the right shape. And his nose and mouth were too long and rigid. 

His fingers felt different too, stiff and scratchy. But he knew they were still his fingers. 

Because they were still twisted and broken. Painful and unfixable. 

Varian’s brain felt sluggish and his chest was too tight. 

Too tight… 

It was too tight.

Why was it so tight? 

He couldn’t breathe!

It was too tight, he couldn’t breathe!

Something whistled through the air and Varian found his eyes drifting in the direction of the sound. 

Adrenaline suddenly flooded through his veins and his heart hammered against his ribcage, making his head pound harder and his chest squeeze painfully. He let out a scream of fear as his gaze locked onto the blade of black rocks swinging toward him, its purpose clear and unmistakable. Black spots danced in his vision and, distantly, he felt himself hit the ground as the world faded away. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra couldn’t breathe.

She couldn’t… 

She almost… 

She almost killed him.

She almost killed Varian.

She would’ve killed him if it weren’t for the rock that had come out of the ground and caught her sword.

Just next to Varian’s limp form, a spike had burst from the ground right in the path of her swing. Her sword had sliced over halfway through the black rock before the awkward angle had stopped the momentum.

Had stopped her from cleaving Varian in two.

A horrifying vision filled her mind’s eye. 

The spike didn’t stop her swing. The sword continued it’s descent, striking Varian’s small, fragile body before sinking into his flesh. He looked up at her with his beak open in a shrill, gurgling scream of agony as her blade carved through him, leaving behind a trail of red. Blood spatters glistened on his feathers and beak as his agonized gaze met hers. The bright blue of his eyes slowly ebbed away as they desperately searched her face, brimming with anguish and betrayal while the life faded from them.

Cassandra let go of her sword, leaving it lodged in the rock, as she collapsed onto her hands and knees. She stayed there several seconds, gasping and heaving, still shaking from the adrenaline rush until the image of Varian’s dull, lifeless eyes flashed through her mind again and bile crawled up her throat. Her jaw ached for a moment as her esophagus convulsed violently before vomit began spewing out of her mouth to splatter onto the dark, polished floor beneath her. 

Once she’d finished dispelling the meager contents of her stomach, having only eaten breakfast that day, and caught her breath, Cassandra leaned back and wiped her mouth, trying to calm her racing heart and rid her tongue of the acrid taste of stomach bile.

It would be fine. She didn’t do it. The rock stopped her. Varian was—

Varian wasn’t moving.

Cassandra scrambled over to his limp, feathered figure and pulled back her gauntlets so she could feel for a pulse and check for breathing.

Oh, thank the Sun above.

While his tiny, fluttering heartbeat was erratic, it was still there, and his breathing was slow and shallow but also, thankfully, present.

“I warned you that someone might get hurt.”

Drained of her anger in the face of the consequences, Cassandra didn’t bother to grace Zhan Tiri with a reply, and though she knew it was unwise to keep her back to her enemy, she couldn’t bring herself to turn away from Varian’s unconscious form either. 

The girl gave a long, tragic sigh as if the turn of events was upsetting to her. Suddenly, she appeared in front of Cassandra, making her jerk back involuntarily before leaning forward again to shield Varian from the demon’s view. 

Zhan Tiri’s face was shadowed by the black spikes littered around the room, but her eyes still glinted in the darkness, her teeth gleaming as her mouth stretched into a feral grin. She laughed softly as if amused by Cassandra’s actions before gesturing to Varian’s half-covered form and remarking, “It’s quite intriguing how, one moment, you’re making him suffer, and the next, you’re trying to protect him.” She sneered. “It really throws one for the loop… I wonder what Varian thinks of it.” 

Cassandra gritted her teeth but refused to respond to the demon’s goading.

Zhan Tiri chuckled at her stubbornness. “What say we make a deal?” she proposed unexpectedly.

Cassandra couldn’t hold back her snort of disbelief. “How about not,” came her cutting retort, and after a moment, she demanded, “Where’s the Teapot?”

Zhan Tiri raised a delicate eyebrow, seemingly unaffected by her biting tone. She tilted her head, regarding Cassandra with what looked to be mild exasperation. “If you wish for Varian to remain as a bird forever, then, by all means, discount my words and dismiss my offer.” She paused, studying Cassandra’s face contemplatively, before continuing in a suddenly hard, commanding tone. “But, if not, I strongly advise you allow me to finish.”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Zhan Tiri smiled at Cassandra’s flicker of unease as she waited for the woman’s reply. When the Moonstone Wielder remained silent, she put forth her proposition. “I will give you the Avian Teapot, readily and willingly,” Cassandra scowled disbelievingly, but Zhan Tiri continued regardless, “and you may use it to find someone who produces the cure-eggs. But,” she held up a finger, “first, you must bring me the Sundrop by midday tomorrow and relinquish the Moonstone.”

Without giving Cassandra the chance to respond, Zhan Tiri fell back into the shadows with a wide, triumphant grin.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra felt Varian shift in her arms as she made her way down the stairs of the tower.

“Varian?” she called softly.

He didn’t respond, instead, scrunching up his small face, as though he were thinking very hard. 

“Varian?” Cassandra repeated, a note of concern seeping into her tone.

Still, he remained silent. 

Creasing her brow as she picked up the pace, Cassandra made her way down the last of the stairs. Crossing the foyer, she faced the wall and raised her hand, creating an opening between the spires of black rocks. 

As soon as it was big enough, Cassandra promptly strode out of the tower, heading straight for the forest where the canopy would hopefully shield them from prying eyes. 

Particularly, large, purple, malevolent ones.

However, as soon as she reached the shade, Cassandra second-guessed herself.

She glanced at the sky, noting that the clouds were sporting various shades of vibrant pinks and purples, and the bottom of the sun had already dipped under the horizon. They had maybe an hour or so left of daylight before the sun completely disappeared beneath the horizon and the kingdom was plunged into darkness. 

Zhan Tiri had proven that she was perfectly capable of traveling through shadows, what would she be able to do when everything was dark? What’s to say she wasn’t watching Cassandra from the shade cast by the trees at that very moment? 

Shivering slightly at the notion, Cassandra peered around apprehensively. 

The demon could be lurking anywhere. Beneath the underbrush. Up in the branches. Behind the tree trunks. 

But before her paranoia and shot nerves could get the better of her, Cassandra reminded herself that the main road was only a klick or so away. While traveling on a public road wasn’t optimal, it didn’t have as much shade as within the forest and was, therefore, less likely to harbor a shadow-traveling demon. 

Holding that thought in mind, she started through the trees. With luck, she would reach the road in ten minutes and make it to the castle before the sun set completely.

As she trekked through the undergrowth, she cast another glance at Varian and noticed that he looked as though he were in pain. 

Except, she hadn’t thought he’d been hurt— _You almost killed him!_ —, he’d just passed out. 

Feeling slightly awkward, she prodded his side and when he didn’t respond, she felt around his tiny ribs before checking his legs and, finally, his wings. She winced as she studied his broken wing— _You did that. Your fault_ —, carefully taking the uninjured part and pulling it back so she could inspect the underside. 

To her relief, everything looked fine, or at least, no worse than it had been before. She let the wing fold back into place before giving Varian another once-over. As soon as she was satisfied he was still breathing and hadn’t been injured further, Cassandra looked back up and refocused on her surroundings as she made her way toward the road. 

The forest was remarkably serene; leaves whispering softly in the light breeze, grass swishing faintly underfoot, a creek burbling happily nearby. Any animals there might have been were silent as if they were enjoying the quietude. Heavenly rays of golden light filtered through the canopy as the sun continued its steady descent. 

Everything felt so ethereal and otherworldly, yet so very _fragile_ as well. As if with one wrong step, the tranquility would shatter irreparably into a million pieces.

Frankly, it was rather annoying.

It made her want to tread quietly and carefully. It made her want to stop and gaze at the beauty of it all. It made her want to forget all her problems and simply sit down to enjoy the peace. 

But she couldn’t do that. 

After everything she’d done, she owed it to Varian to keep going. It was her fault he was stuck as a bird. It was her fault he had a broken wing, or rather, broken fingers. It was her fault he’d almost died. It was her fault he was so terrified of the black rocks, of _her_ , that it made him pass out. 

Everything was her fault.

It was all in consequence of her destiny.

However, if this was the price, she wasn’t willing to pay it.

Before, she’d been so certain her destiny was worth it, that her ends justified her means. But now… seeing the consequences firsthand… 

She wasn’t so sure.

Suddenly, Varian tensed in her arms and let out a moan. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian groaned as he became aware of a splitting headache. 

“Varian?” a voice called above him.

It was then Varian became aware of three things: Firstly, he was being carried, secondly, he was outside, and thirdly, he was still a bird.

Wait. When had he thought he _wasn’t_ still a bird?

All of his memories were slow and foggy, it was as if he were trying to drag a three-wheeled cart through a swamp without a horse. But gradually, inch by inch, he managed to start pulling the memories free from the murky waters of his mind.

He remembered figuring out the girl, Zhan’s Tiri’s, identity. 

He remembered being pulled into the shadows. 

He remembered the suffocating darkness. The way it seemed to smother him like a heavy, frigid blanket, claw at him like tongues of flame, coat his tongue like a cold, viscous poison, ooze down his throat like molten lava, freeze his organs, boil his insides. 

He wondered if that place in the shadows had been Hell. 

But before he could ponder the idea further, the memories continued and the thought was lost.

He remembered the demon’s iron-grip as she held him captive within the darkness.

He remembered screaming at her to let him go.

He remembered being flung out of the shadows. 

He remembered Cassandra catching him.

He remembered Zhan Tiri telling her something.

He remembered tumbling out of Cassandra’s grip as the woman screamed.

He remembered the room exploding.

He remembered the rocks consuming the world.

And he remembered the blade swinging toward him with a single purpose…

To kill him.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Varian?” Cassandra repeated. 

She wanted to stop and focus all of her attention on him, but she was only a few meters away from the main road, so, instead, she walked faster, throwing frequent glances at Varian as his breathing stuttered and quickened.

Cassandra stopped at the edge of the main road, just out of sight, watching and listening for anyone nearby. After a long moment of silence with no sign of any other travelers, she stepped out of the shadows and onto the packed dirt. 

She looked around one more time before returning her concentration to Varian.

The alchemist’s crest was pressed flat against the top of his head and his eyelids fluttered as his eyes rolled around. His small chest shuddered with uneven breaths and his plumage was fluffed out and ruffled in distress.

“Varian?” Cassandra asked again. She didn’t know what else to say, she didn’t know what was happening. “Varian? Hey, wake up.”

She tapped his beak lightly, hoping to get a reaction.

That was putting it lightly.

The boy’s eyes shot open as he screeched loudly in fright. His wings flew out, whacking Cassandra’s hand away and subsequently knocking himself out of her arms. 

“Ack! Varian!” Cassandra yelped as she tried to catch him. 

Her arms came together to cradle empty air as Varian landed in the dirt on his back with a muted _thump_.

“Are you all right?” Cassandra asked worriedly as she dropped to her knees next to him.

At the sound of her voice, Varian shot to his feet before stumbling back a few steps and falling on his tail. His chest heaved as he stared at her with wide light blue eyes.

All at once, Cassandra was struck again by what she had done. By what she had almost done. 

Guilt clawed at her throat and regretful tears filled her eyes. “Varian, I’m sorry, it was just- Zhan Tiri, she- I couldn’t- I didn’t realize it was you, I didn’t mean to,” she burst out in an emotional rush, trying to explain herself as she reached a hand toward him. 

Varian jerked away as his eyes narrowed and the fear within them hardened. 

“You keep saying that,” he told her. “You keep saying you didn’t mean to. Yet you keep doing it over and over.”

This time, it was Cassandra’s turn to recoil. Zhan Tiri’s words rang through her head: _“One moment, you’re making him suffer, and the next, you’re trying to protect him… I wonder what Varian thinks of it.”_

Her mouth opened and closed as she scrambled for something to say. A lump formed in her throat and her vision blurred with tears as two words fell from her lips in a strangled whisper, “I’m sorry.”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian softened again at her genuine apology. “Cassandra, you’re my friend- were- are- Ugh!” He groaned slightly and his voice cracked as he tried to keep his composure. “I don’t even know what you are to me anymore! I just- I can’t keep doing this- this _thing_ where I dance around you because I don’t know what’ll set you off next! What’ll make you flip and put another—” His voice broke and he swallowed. “Put another manacle around my ankle. Or hit me with more rocks. Or decide you’re done and get rid of me.” His voice faded to a quiet whisper and he lowered his eyes at the admission, prepared for Cassandra to explode at him or simply stand up and leave, abandoning him to his fate as a bird forever.

However, her voice was surprisingly soft, if a little wobbly, when she spoke next, making Varian glance back up at her. “Varian, I- I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say. There’s no- _no_ excuse for everything I’ve put you through, for everything I’ve done to you,” she said, catching his eyes with hers and holding his gaze. “And there’s no way for me to truly express how profoundly _sorry_ I am. For everything.” She took a deep breath. “But I _swear_ , I will do everything in my power to make it up to you.” 

Varian’s breath caught at her words, at her promise. His past making him wary of such things, despite his recent reconciliation with Rapunzel. 

Cassandra seemed to understand his hesitation and reiterated, “This isn’t a promise, Varian, this an oath. Because I swear to you by both the Sun and the Moon that I will make this right, I will make it up to you, and I will never hurt you again.” 

Now, Varian didn’t believe in any deities or gods, but at that moment, when the last rays of sunlight flared brighter and the Moonstone on Cassandra’s chest sparked and crackled, he found himself believing, just for a second, that maybe there was some truth to the stories after all.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra stared deeply into Varian’s eyes, willing him to understand just how serious she was. Her breathing was even and steady, her heart calm and sure, her welling tears long-dried in the face of her newfound purpose. 

Varian released a shuddering exhale, seeming to let go of all his worries and trepidation with a single breath. He closed his eyes for a moment, breaking away from her gaze, before slowly opening them again and meeting her electric blue eyes once more. 

“All right,” was all he said, but it was all he needed to say.

Cassandra felt herself slump with relief. She wasn’t forgiven, she knew that, but it was a start. Truthfully, Cassandra didn’t deserve his forgiveness, but she would do her best to compensate for all the wrongs she’d committed against him. 

“Um, Cassandra?” Varian asked suddenly and Cassandra looked back up at him. “Where are we?”

“The main road,” she told him, glancing around at the long stretch of dirt they were sitting on. “I wanted to… get out of the shadows.”

Varian twitched slightly at the vague reminder of the demon, but otherwise, didn’t comment. 

“I think if we get going now, we should be able to reach the castle just after nightfall,” she continued, falling into a more business-like tone. 

“Right,” Varian murmured as Cassandra stood up and dusted herself off before crouching back down and putting out a hand for Varian to hop on. 

He obliged absentmindedly, appearing to be lost in thought. Cassandra placed him on her shoulder and started down the dirt road at a brisk clip. 

A silence fell between them, it wasn’t particularly companionable—she wouldn’t have expected it to be all things considered—, but it was comfortable enough.

Or it was until Varian broke it.

“Wait,” he said. “What are we going to do when we reach the castle?”

Cassandra hesitated, thinking, unsure of how he would react to her half-baked plan.

However, Varian seemed to misinterpret her silence and she felt his gaze become judgemental. 

He began chattering at her as he would’ve before his voice was restored until, at her startled look, he switched back to English. “Sorry, I don’t think this bird throat is used to all the human words, talking feels really strange.” 

From her own perspective, Cassandra had to agree. It was extremely off-putting to hear—and watch—Varian’s voice coming from a bird, especially one she’d spent the last two days with and only ever heard chirps and whistles from. His words also sounded very strange. His vowels came out warbly as if he were trying to trill, and some of his consonants were clicky; it was like his avian throat was trying to warp them into normal bird calls. Everything also had a vague lilt to it that still followed the automaton melody, making it hard to place the tone of his words.

“Anyways, you can’t turn Rapunzel into Zhan Tiri,” Varian continued, “that wouldn’t solve anything.”

Cassandra opened her mouth to rectify the misunderstanding, but before she could say anything, he cut her off.

“No. No. Let me finish,” he said, holding up a wing and Cassandra’s mouth snapped shut incredulously. “If Zhan Tiri gets the Sundrop and the Moonstone, she’ll _destroy_ Corona. It won’t matter if I’m human again because everyone will be… dead.” He faltered slightly and looked away as if ashamed by saying it out loud. 

“Varian,” Cassandra stopped herself when her voice came out harsher than she’d intended. She took a breath before continuing, “I’m not going to give Zhan Tiri the Moonstone or the Sundrop.”

A look of realization crossed Varian’s face quickly followed by embarrassment. His voice was small and slightly sheepish as he said, “Oh. I mean, I just figured that, with Rapunzel and everything, I don’t know, you would be more inclined to just…” He trailed off, hunching his shoulders and looking abashed. 

Cassandra rolled her eyes at him, though the action held no acrimony. “To just do away with her?” she finished gently. 

Varian peeked up at her tentatively before relaxing when he saw that she wasn’t offended, but, rather, understanding.

“I get it,” she told him. “Honestly, I’m not really sure myself how I feel about Rapunzel now…” Cassandra trailed off contemplatively as she tried to think it through, to untangle her mess of emotions, but after a few long moments, it was already proving to be impossible. 

She couldn’t decide which emotions were her true feelings and which were merely products of Zhan Tiri’s manipulations. 

The idea that the demon had been able to twist herself so far into Cassandra’s head was infuriating.

“Cass.”

She started at the nickname, breaking out of her thoughts. It wasn’t “Cassie”, but… 

Varian was looking at her hopefully with light blue eyes. “Maybe you should just talk to her,” he said. “I know she misses you… And I think that, somewhere, deep down, you miss her too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think of Varian's perspective in the beginning?
> 
> I was trying to make it clear what was actually going on in reality whilst also channeling the disjointed-ness of Varian's panic attack and what (he thought) he was going through. It was also supposed to be like he'd more or less dissociated from recent events which was why he got confused about his hands and face feeling different; he was expecting his human body.
> 
> On another note, I get that Cass may seem a bit OOC with all the crying and everything, but I feel like, with everything she's been going through in such a short period of time, she's gonna be a little prone to tears every now and then.
> 
> Idk if the Sun and Moon are/could be considered "deities" or anything in the show (I've read some fanfictions where they are), but, for the sake of theatricality, let's say they are.
> 
> Comments, kudos, feedback, and predictions are highly appreciated!
> 
> Also, to all my fellow Americans, have a happy Thanksgiving! And to everyone else, I hope you all have a good day filled with lots and lots of food! :)


	13. The Capital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Varian chirruped in alarm and Cassandra clenched her fists at her sides, her muscles tensing in anticipation of a fight as her heart pounded in her ears and adrenaline surged through her veins."  
> . . . .  
> "'Varian's alive.'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Descriptions of vomit and inebriation.
> 
> I'm so, so sorry it's taken me so long to update! It's been a looooong week! XP
> 
> But, to make up for it, I've added Rapunzel's point of view in this chapter, and the next chapter is (so far) over 4,000 words!
> 
> In the meantime, enjoy!

The Capital of Corona was quiet as Cassandra and Varian slipped through the streets; Stan and Pete had been the ones guarding the bridge, so, naturally, they’d gone in unnoticed and with almost laughable ease. 

The sun had already sunk well below the horizon, leaving the world to the mercy of the moon and her cold light as it cut through the darkness and bathed the city in a silver aura.

Getting to the castle had taken far longer than Cassandra had originally thought; she assumed the miscalculation was because she’d really only ever traveled between the tower and the Capital on horseback. Pair that with a rapidly darkening sky, and it left them slinking into the city over an hour later than they’d hoped. 

Though luck hadn’t forsaken them completely as it seemed like nearly everyone in the Capital was already in bed, allowing them to make their way to the castle unimpeded—at least, so far. 

The lack of Corona’s usual nightlife made Cassandra wonder if there had been some sort of occasion that simply wore everyone out. 

Varian shifted uneasily on her shoulder as she darted from alley to alley, keeping to the shadows despite the potential danger they posed. 

At first, the alchemist had argued that there was no need for all the creeping and hiding, but his protests died when Cassandra pointed out that, if she was caught, they’d throw her straight into the dungeons regardless of if she had a talking bird that sounded like Varian. She’d also added that they might not bother to tell the princess of their presence until morning, which would waste precious hours of the boy’s slowly dwindling time.

Suddenly, the door of the building across the street burst open, and light poured onto the cobblestones as loud, boisterous laughter filled the air. 

Varian chirruped in alarm and Cassandra jumped back, pressing herself against the side of a building and holding her breath. She clenched her fists at her sides, her muscles tensing in anticipation of a fight as her heart pounded in her ears and adrenaline surged through her veins.

However, it was proven unnecessary when a townsman lurched into sight, leaning heavily on the doorframe with flushed cheeks and sweaty hair. He stumbled off the porch and onto the road, swaying dangerously from side to side as he did so.

To put it simply, he was drunk. _Very_ drunk. 

The man giggled in confusion as his eyes drifted blearily around the street and, despite his obvious inebriation making the idea extremely unlikely, Cassandra found herself preparing to rush him should he spot them. 

Thankfully though, before the drunk’s eyes could reach their hiding spot, he suddenly bent double and began retching all over the street. 

Varian made a noise of disgust as he watched the man from her shoulder while she attempted to focus on the incredibly interesting lines of filth decorating the cracks in the wall. But ultimately, despite her best efforts, the sound of vomit splashing onto the cobblestones still managed to make her empty stomach churn queasily as a reminder of her own… incident earlier that evening. 

Once the townsman was done spewing bile and alcohol, he straightened unsteadily and looked down to study his mess with an expression of puzzlement, as if he were wondering where it came from. He contemplated the vomit for a moment longer before abruptly falling face-first into the puddle of sick with a wet thump.

“Oi! Looks like Terry’s out, lads!” a voice slurred loudly from inside the building. “Somebody get ‘im before he chokes on his chunks!”

A cacophony of raucous, mocking laughter followed the comment, and a burly man—who was also quite drunk—staggered out of the building. Without batting an eye, he grabbed the unconscious “Terry” around the middle and hauled him up onto his shoulder before stumbling back inside, uncaring of the puke now dripping down his back. 

Cassandra winced as the door swung shut with a resounding bang that echoed through the streets. However, when a crash followed by more laughter sounded from within the building, she had to press a hand over her mouth to hold in a snigger.

Varian, on the other hand, held no such restraint and released a quiet, warbling chuckle from her shoulder. Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, Cassandra smiled slightly at the sound and some of the tension in her muscles loosened. 

Still smiling, Cassandra peered around to establish that there wasn’t anyone watching and dashed across the street to the next alley. 

As soon as they were covered by the shadows, she turned to repeat the action before freezing on the spot as she made out the quiet, but distinctive, metallic clink of armor.

With more caution than that of a rabbit entering a wolf’s den, Cassandra peeked out of the alley and gave a careful look around. 

There.

Just at the bend where the street took a sharp left turn, a pair of guards were traipsing across the cobblestones, their armor clanking faintly as they chatted with one another.

She cursed under her breath but decided it could’ve been worse, seeing as the guards weren’t actually paying attention to anything. The soldier in her couldn’t help but sigh at their incompetence; they were supposed to be patrolling the city, not gossiping like maids in the kitchen! 

Cassandra glanced around, evaluating their options. 

Only to find they were severely limited.

They couldn’t cross the street since it was too exposed and, regardless of their inattentiveness, the guards would still spot them easily. They couldn’t sidle along the edge of the buildings because, if the guards didn’t see her, then the people inside might. She couldn’t simply trap them with her rocks as that would bring more people outside than she was willing to deal with. She couldn’t knock them out because they were in the middle of the street, and she wouldn’t be able to get close enough without one of them seeing her first. And she didn’t want to try and create a diversion because that would make them even more attentive to their surroundings; it was better as they were, relaxed and distracted.

So that left her with only one alternative.

“What do we do?” Varian whispered, glancing between her and the approaching guards. 

Cassandra shushed him before whispering, “Just stay still.” 

Shadows enveloped her and Varian once more as she backed into the alley, the darkness smothering their features until only the faintest outline remained. 

And then they waited.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra darted across the street to the next darkened alley, her footsteps nearly silent on the cobblestones. 

The two guards had passed by them without incident, but even with that small victory, she still felt herself growing tenser by the second. 

They were sneaking through the shadows along the city’s inner wall, heading for the gate that would open into the castle courtyard. Despite the progress they were making, all Cassandra could think about was how exposed they were along the wall. She knew the guards’ patrols were more frequent by the castle, and while she’d once had them memorized, Eugene would’ve likely changed the patterns, leaving her woefully uncertain as to how they should go about approaching the gate. 

Varian clicked a soft warning from her shoulder and Cassandra glanced behind her to see—speak of the devil—two guards marching down the street. 

Judging by their hand-me-down armor and stiff stride, they must’ve been new; probably fresh from training and jumping at the chance to prove themselves. 

Cassandra held in a groan. Why couldn’t it have been one of the older guards? She’d found that, as exemplified by the previous pair of guards, after a soldier had been graduated from training for a while, they generally became more relaxed in their duties. On the other hand, newbies were like overeager puppies, always fighting with one another to get the most attention and the highest praises. 

The two soldiers were scanning every wagon and every crate, leaving nothing unchecked as they went about their rounds. Only a year ago, Cassandra would’ve commended their commitment and diligence, but now she cursed it. 

They were left with three options: They could either make a break for it, continue hiding and hope the guards don’t see them—which was unlikely—, or create a diversion and pray it keeps them busy long enough for her and Varian to hide. 

Quietly, she relayed this to the alchemist and he tapped her shoulder three times with a single talon. Cassandra nodded; she’d been leaning toward the third option as well. 

“Close your eyes,” she hissed softly through her teeth. 

Without checking to see if he’d followed her instructions, Cassandra clenched her right fist and slowly brought it skyward.

A few houses down the street, the cobblestone began cracking and groaning as a blue glow lit up beneath them, casting long shadows across the surrounding buildings. A couple stones clattered loudly as they were pushed out of the ground and Cassandra cringed at the noise, hoping it wouldn’t wake anyone up and bring them outside. 

The guards, noticing the disturbance immediately, drew their swords and cautiously approached the light. 

When they were only a few feet away, Cassandra opened her fist and brought her hand back down to the ground in one swift movement. 

The blue glow shut off, plunging the street into darkness once more as the black rocks she’d summoned sunk back into the ground before they could be seen. She didn’t want to risk the guards recognizing them and figuring out she was nearby, but Cassandra figured a little light show would still distract them well enough. 

With the young soldiers preoccupied with her distraction, Cassandra took her chances and bolted across the street as quietly as she could. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian gripped Cassandra’s shoulder as tightly as he could, ignoring the twinge in his ankle as she sprinted straight for the gates. His wing sparked with pain at the jostling, but he didn’t make a sound, instead, focusing his attention on silently praying to all the gods he didn’t believe in that the guards wouldn’t notice them. 

“Hey!”

“Halt in the name of the King!”

And this was why he didn’t put his faith in fairytales.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian yelped in alarm, apparently deciding to simply abandon any remaining sense of stealth. “Uh, Cass? I think the time for subtlety is over!” he told her fearfully. 

Cassandra didn’t waste her breath on an answer as she pumped her arms faster and poured all her energy into her legs. Blood roared in her ears and she flung out an arm, calling up a few black rocks to break through the gates. The ground rumbled and the area lit up in blue as a large spire of rock burst through the cobblestone street. The black spike slammed into the gates with the force of a charging kurloc, making the iron screech horribly as it was smashed out of the way.

Varian flinched violently on her shoulder and she felt a brief flicker of guilt for not warning him, but it was quickly overpowered by the panic and frustration that swelled within her when she heard the alarm bells begin tolling.

To Cassandra, it sounded like a death knell. 

She willed her legs to go faster.

With her sights set on the great oak doors that led into the castle, Cassandra sprinted through the twisted remains of the wrought iron gates and into the courtyard. 

But before she could take more than a few strides, guards suddenly began pouring out of the two doors on either side of the imperial staircase, quickly surrounding her and Varian and making her skid to an abrupt halt to avoid being gutted by the numerous weapons leveled at them.

Just as she opened her mouth to curse at the development, Varian beat her to it and swore colorfully enough that she wouldn’t have been surprised if any of the soldiers within earshot blushed. 

Taken aback, Cassandra gave him a startled look as she was almost completely certain that, despite having only met the man once, Quirin had no idea his son knew those words, much less how to use them.

Varian glanced over at her shyly and let out an awkward chuckle; if he had been human, she had no doubt he would’ve been red with embarrassment. “I make things explode on a daily basis,” he explained sheepishly. “I’ve been exposed to my fair share of expletives.”

“Ah,” was the only reply she could think of before she refocused on the twenty or so guards encircling them. 

One man stepped forward boldly, brandishing his pike. She couldn’t make out his face in the darkness, but he held himself steadier than a newbie would, so it was more likely than not that she knew him—being the daughter of the Captain, she had met most, if not all, of the Royal Guard—, which meant that he also knew her, and her undeniable skill with a blade. 

Kudos to him for bravery.

But there’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity.

“Cassandra of Corona, you are hereby charged with multiple counts of high treason, kidnap—”

She didn’t allow the man to finish, and instead, whispered for Varian to shut his eyes again before thrusting her hands to the sky, calling up a wall of spikes to surround the guards on both sides, essentially creating two rings of rocks around them. 

Bringing her hands back down, Cassandra opened her fingers before spreading her arms outward as if pushing herself through a crowd. The rocks rearranged themselves at her bidding, and an opening formed at the foot of the castle steps. The soldiers struggled and cursed her as they were pushed around within the rings, their armor clanging harshly against the black walls. 

“You’re not- You’re not hurting them, right?” Varian asked suddenly in a small voice. 

She cast the alchemist a sidelong glance to see him tilting his head this way and that as he listened to the guards with his eyes still closed.

“No, they’re fine,” she reassured him. “I’m just pushing them around a little so we can get through and they can’t come after us.”

Varian sighed with obvious relief. “Oh, okay, that’s fine then,” he said.

Cassandra rolled her eyes with a faintly amused smile. It was hard to believe he was the same boy who’d attacked the castle and attempted regicide only two years prior. 

Good times.

As soon as the rocks settled, she started forward at a brisk pace, glancing all around to make sure there weren’t any other guards who’d managed to slip past her. 

“All right, you can open your eyes now,” she told Varian as she leapt up the stairs two steps at a time. 

Ignoring all the shouts from the trapped guards and the alarm bells still tolling, Cassandra cast one last look around the courtyard to affirm that no one was sneaking up on them before turning to face the oak doors and cracking them open. She peeked inside to see the hall was deserted aside from a few torches still crackling merrily from their brackets mounted along the walls. 

Easing the door open just enough for them to sidle through, Cassandra and Varian slipped into the castle without a sound. She glanced around again before gently closing the door behind her, wincing at the small thud that seemed to echo deafeningly through the barren hall. 

“All right, here we go,” she murmured in an attempt to psych herself up as her misgivings suddenly began to catch up with her.

Varian chirped on her shoulder encouragingly, reminding Cassandra of her oath before her anxious thoughts could take shape. She gave him a small smile and, before she could overthink it, started down the corridor she knew led to Rapunzel’s chambers. 

As they drew closer to her former friend’s tower, Cassandra grew warier. She knew there were definitely more guards than the ones she’d trapped, but, thus far, no one else had approached her and it was putting her on edge.

“Where are the rest of the guards?” Cassandra asked simply to give voice to her anxious thoughts. 

She glanced at Varian for his response. 

“Hell if I know,” was all he said as he gave her a helpless shrug.

Cassandra hummed in deliberation, her gaze drifting to the floor as she continued down the corridor, contemplating possible explanations for the absence of soldiers trying to kill her.

However, before she could get very far with her musings, voices floated over to them from around the corner.

“...talk to her first before you all charge in with your weapons pointed at her face.” 

Varian trilled in excitement at the sound of Rapunzel’s voice, his talons tapping on her shoulder in his eagerness. 

“What was that?” 

Ah, Fitzherjerk himself. 

Suddenly, Cassandra felt her qualms return in full force. The last time she was here, she’d almost killed Eugene and Lance before proceeding to kidnap Varian and get him turned into a bird, which, after several physically and emotionally draining events, brought them to the mess they were in now.

She threw a quick look at the boy on her shoulder to find him watching her expectantly, waiting for her to approach Rapunzel and Eugene. Varian gave her a supportive nod before tilting his head toward the voices with a reassuring grin. 

Remembering who she was doing this for, Cassandra took a steadying breath as she summoned up her courage, straightened her shoulders, and strode around the corner to meet the Princess of Corona and the Captain of the Royal Guard.

…And apparently the rest of the Royal Guard as well.

Quickly slipping on a mask of cold aloofness to hide her startlement, Cassandra stopped before the group and braced her hand on her hip as she stuck out her chin.

“All this for little ol’ me?” she said with dry sarcasm, leaning forward and placing a hand over her heart. “Why, I’m flattered.”

“Cass!” Rapunzel exclaimed, though it was up for debate as to whether it was in happiness or simply alarm. 

Pascal squeaked resentfully from where he sat on the princess’s shoulder. His scales turning dark red and angry as he crossed his little arms and, funnily enough, gave Cassandra the stink eye.

She ignored the chameleon and instead, trained her eyes on Rapunzel, taking in her former friend. 

To put it bluntly, the princess looked exhausted. 

Her posture was bent, slumped under the weight of more than a few sleepless nights no doubt, and bags had made themselves at home beneath her weary, green eyes. Worry lines were beginning to mar her forehead while a tired frown replaced her generally irrepressible smile. Her perfect, shining, golden hair was dull and tangled, swinging limply in a long, messy braid at her back as she looked Cassandra up and down.

Knowing that she was the reason for Rapunzel’s sorry state, a twinge of guilt tugged at Cassandra’s gut. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cass looked… different. 

However, Rapunzel couldn’t quite place what exactly had changed. 

She wore the same dark armor, she had the same electric blue hair, the same cold, unnaturally blue eyes, the same dedicated drive, the same steadfast resolution—

Wait. No, that’s what was different. 

Something had happened. Recently.

Something had shaken her resolve. Turned her world upside down. Made her rethink her convictions.

Perhaps also made her have a change of heart…?

Maybe Varian’s death— No. His _disappearance_ , she had to believe he was just missing, had allowed Cassandra to think clearly again. Had helped her see that “little girl” for who she really was. Had helped her get out from under Zhan Tiri’s control.

Cassandra’s _rage_ back under the mountain earlier that day was still fresh in her mind; the anger and betrayal in her closest friend’s eyes had haunted her ever since she escaped the caverns.

But Rapunzel never actually believed Cassandra had done such a thing! She’d just… It was just… 

She’d been desperate and running out of options. 

Searching the forest had yielded zero results, and posting missing signs had been as helpful as a quill without ink. Meanwhile, Quirin had been running himself ragged searching for Varian while trying to manage a village at the same time, and it was obvious he hadn’t been sleeping or eating either. 

Eugene was no better. Her fiancé had also been neglecting sleep and consistent meals in favor of directing searches and devising ways to storm Cassandra’s tower and rescue Varian. 

And that wasn’t even mentioning Ruddiger! The poor raccoon had refused to touch any food ever since Varian was kidnapped, and he’d stopped grooming himself as well, leaving his fur matted and dirty. More often than not, one could find him hiding in the Demanitus Chambers, sniffing around as if he hoped the scents would lead him to his missing boy. And if he wasn’t there, then he was wrapped around Quirin’s shoulders, ignoring the world and everything in it.

It had been four days since the evening of Varian’s initial kidnapping, three days since their failed rescue attempt—since they’d last seen Varian—, over two days since she and Eugene confronted Cassandra and Zhan Tiri at the Spire, one day since they’d come to Cassandra’s tower to plead for Varian’s release and discovered that she’d already let him go the day before, and _somehow_ it was only a few hours ago that she’d been with Cassandra under the mountain.

It felt more like _weeks_ had passed rather than days.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“What do you want, Cassandra?” Eugene growled suddenly, stepping forward after getting over his surprise. His sword was already drawn and he pointed it at Cassandra challengingly; the roughly thirty other soldiers in the room quickly followed suit and brandished their weapons at her as well.

Cassandra dismissed the men in favor of surveying Eugene as she had Rapunzel. 

The new captain appeared just as drained as the princess, with dark circles purpling under his eyes and a five-o’clock shadow dusting his jawline. His hair had obviously suffered as well as it now hung limp and lifeless from his scalp, a sharp contrast to its usual immaculate style. 

He also looked like he could use a bath.

Cassandra took a deep breath and, feeling the gazes of everyone in the corridor focus on her, decided to skip the pleasantries and quit beating around the bush. 

“Varian’s alive,” she told them bluntly.

Silence.

Eugene dropped his sword at the unexpected announcement, his mouth falling open in a small ‘o’ before quickly snapping shut again as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Apparently not wanting to bother with simply picking up his own weapon, the captain grabbed another sword from the soldier next to him. 

Ignoring the indignant spluttering of the guard, Eugene pointed the blade at her face. “And how do we know you’re telling the truth?” he spat fiercely, though Cassandra could still hear the hint of hope coloring his voice.

She tilted her head in mock-contemplation, completely disregarding the sharp steel mere inches from her eyes. She crossed one arm over her chest and rested her other elbow on it as she tapped her chin, pretending to be in deep thought. “Hmm, I don’t know,” she said before turning to the boy on her shoulder with a faintly mischievous grin. “What do you think, Varian?”

The bird only looked at her dully before whistling the automaton melody.

“Winzig?” Rapunzel asked, baffled. “Cass, what’s going on? What are you talking about?”

“Um, Blondie, I think she’s gone off the deep end,” Eugene said, staring at her incredulously.

Cassandra ignored them as a hard pit formed in her stomach. “Varian?” she repeated weakly, dread making her voice sound feeble. 

The Steller’s jay just watched her impassively, his light blue eyes dim and vacant, devoid of any emotion or recognition. 

“Nononono, it’s too early,” she murmured, shutting out the other people in the hallway as she placed all of her attention on Varian and tried to force down her panic. 

_“So, what? I’ve only got, like, thirty hours before I—”_

_“Mmm, I didn’t give you that much, so maybe a little less… ”_

Cassandra’s heart began pounding in her ears as her blood ran cold. “Varian?” she repeated, her voice pitching with desperation.

Suddenly, the bird shook himself, his crest standing up as he looked around the corridor in confusion. “What’d I miss?” Varian asked Cassandra when his bright, intelligent blue eyes landed on her. 

Eugene’s jaw hit the floor as he dropped his sword again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, the "occasion" alluded to in the beginning is the festival thing from "A Handmaiden's Tale".
> 
> Please let me know if it feels like Varian's being too kind to Cass too quickly. I'm trying to keep the story moving bc we're starting to get past that part of the plot, but I don't want to just gloss over the aftermath of it.  
> If it were me, I'd be holding a grudge like nobody's business (my longest-held grudge lasted nearly 7 years lol), but I don't think that's really in Varian's nature. And yes, I know, he held a grudge against Rapunzel, but I feel like if you look at how he acted before and after that, like with Cass at the science expo for instance, then he's not inherently the grudge-holding type.  
> Tell me your thoughts in the comments!


	14. Reunions Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Eugene wanted so badly to believe it wasn’t a trick, that Cass was still in there somewhere… and that Varian was still alive…  
> He missed the little brainiac…  
> But he didn’t want to get his hopes up only to be stabbed in the back because they were too trusting. That had happened to both him and Rapunzel one too many times.  
> And he was going to make sure it wouldn’t happen again."  
> . . . .  
> "'Dad?'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Panic attacks ('cause I'm an awful person)
> 
> Lol, I ended up having to split the google doc I'm writing this story on in half bc it was getting too long (200+ pages to be exact:)) and making my computer glitchy. :p
> 
> So, y'all remember how I promised a long chapter? Heh, yeah, so it got _too_ long (nearly 8,000 words!), and I had to split it up...   
> BUT.  
> Since I already have the next chapter written up, all I need to do is edit it, and then I can post it, so the update will be quicker!
> 
> Enjoy!

“Varian?” Rapunzel whispered, a tentative note of hope creeping into her voice despite the wariness in her gaze. She stared intently into Varian’s eyes, her expression guarded as she appeared to search for something within him.

“Um… Hi, Princess,” Varian said, bringing up a wing to rub the back of his head awkwardly before immediately putting it back down when the motion tugged at the inflamed muscles of his injured wing, making pins and needles fuzz painfully through the limb. 

Rapunzel’s entire face lit up as she apparently found what she was looking for, and Varian couldn’t help but feel gratified that the princess cared so much. She took two steps forward, her arms outstretched as if to pull his small body into a fierce hug, before remembering Cassandra and their audience. 

The princess cleared her throat awkwardly and turned to face the bewildered guards standing behind her with their weapons still drawn. “You are all dismissed. Return to your posts,” she ordered, her posture straightening regally as her voice took on a queenly tone.

Rapunzel’s words seemed to snap Eugene back to reality and he turned to gape at his fiancé, confusion written all over his face, as the guards glanced at one another uncertainly, reluctant to leave their princess without extra protection in the presence of a known criminal. 

Appearing to understand their hesitation, Rapunzel firmly, but not unkindly, told them, “I’ll be fine. I don’t think Cassandra's here for a fight.” She glanced at the woman in question. “Right, Cass?”

Varian looked to Cassandra for her response, noting that her face was perfectly impassive, bored even. 

“Sure,” she drawled, her tone as indifferent as her expression. 

Um, Cass?” Varian interjected quietly. “Maybe you should release those other soldiers. Ya know, as a show of goodwill and all that.”

The woman rolled her eyes, but nevertheless, raised a hand to chest-height before pressing it down. A rumbling started outside the window to their left followed by faint shouts from the trapped guards, and a few of the soldiers in the hall raised their weapons again defensively. 

Cassandra gave an exaggerated sigh and said, “Relax, I’m letting the other guards go.”

After another second, the rumbling stopped—though the shouting continued—and she lowered her hand as Rapunzel gave her a delighted smile. 

“See,” the princess said, clasping her hands together decidedly as she faced her soldiers again.

The guards grumbled dubiously, but, seeing their princess wasn’t going to budge, followed her orders, and began to disperse. However, they didn’t bother to hide their disdain for Cassandra as they passed her, though none of them openly challenged the woman.

Varian winced at the nasty looks sent Cassandra’s way, having been on the receiving end of similar expressions of contempt more times than he wanted to count. He glanced at Cassandra for her reaction only to see the woman’s face was still as perfectly aloof as before. And while he’d like to say he could see through the front, her mask remained as cold and impenetrable to him as it must’ve been to everyone else.

“Sunshine,” Eugene began as soon as the rest of the guards took their leave, he approached Rapunzel with his hands outstretched beseechingly. “Are you sure? I mean,” he threw a glance at Varian suspiciously before lowering his voice slightly, “how do we even know that’s actually Varian?”

Varian opened his mouth to make a snarky comment before stopping himself to think about it further. “I guess that’s probably a valid concern,” he sighed after a second. 

“See!” Eugene gestured triumphantly toward Varian. “The bird even agrees with me!”

For whatever reason, Varian felt a spark of irritation in his chest and his crest fluffed out as he let out a sharp trill of reproach and chattered furiously, “I’m not a bird!” 

“Says the flying mammal with feathers making clicky noises,” Eugene retorted, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. 

“Birds aren’t mammals,” Varian and Cassandra automatically said, though Cassandra tacked on the word “genius”. 

“And I can’t fly,” Varian added before his brain caught up with his mouth. His eyes widened slightly and his beak snapped shut as he glanced at the floor, regretting bringing it up when he and Cassandra had just managed to—more or less—put the issue behind them for the time being.

At his words, Varian felt Cassandra flinch slightly beneath him, however, he didn’t correct himself because it _was_ the truth: he _couldn’t_ fly.

“But you’re a…” Eugene trailed off in confusion, raising a finger. 

Next to him, Rapunzel made a noise of realization as her mouth pulled into a sympathetic frown. “Your broken fingers turned into your wing,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

Eugene followed the princess’s gaze to Varian’s crumpled wing and whistled softly at the mangled limb. 

Varian shifted uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze and the man looked up at his face.

Eugene studied him for another moment, his eyes beginning to soften ever so slightly, but then he glanced at Cassandra and his expression hardened distrustfully again.

“Oh, for Moon’s sake, Fitzherbert!” Cassandra exclaimed exasperatedly at his fickleness. 

Varian just managed to hold back a flinch at her harsh tone, but his heart still skipped a beat and he shrank back imperceptibly. 

The woman’s cool facade was slowly slipping in her impatience and she rubbed her temples as if to ward off a headache. “If you’re so determined not to see what’s literally right in front of you, then just- I don’t know, ask him something only Varian would know and be done with it already!”

Eugene’s eyes flickered to Varian. “And how do we know you haven’t just told him about Varian?” he asked skeptically. 

Cassandra scoffed. “Seriously, Fitzherbert?” she said, raising an eyebrow incredulously. “I don’t know _that_ much about him.”

“I feel like I should be offended by that, but I’m not entirely sure why,” Varian remarked before he could stop himself. 

But he might as well have been an ant for all they noticed him. 

“Hey, you’re the one who always preached caution and vigilance like it was the gospel, Cass _an_ dra.” Eugene’s tone, having started out snarky, suddenly dropped into a growl at her name and he leaned into the woman’s space.

Cassandra tensed beneath Varian’s talons and he saw her eye twitch slightly as a bit more of her stony mask was chipped away.

But Eugene wasn’t done yet. “Ya know, Cass, I knew you were brave, even I can’t deny that, but I never imagined you would have the _gall_ ,” he spat the word into her face, “to just waltz in here after everything you’ve done and then try to convince us that a talking _bird_ is _Varian_.” His voice cracked on the name.

“Eugene,” Varian tried, his heart going out to his friend. “It’s me. I- I _promise_ it’s me.” His breathing stuttered at the words, at the promise. 

“Varian never made promises,” Eugene snarled without missing a beat, his face twisting with anger and grief as a shadow passed over his eyes.

“I know, I’m just—” He couldn’t finish, this was not how Varian had imagined their reunion. Eugene was right, he never promised anything, not anymore, but in that, he’d been trying to _prove_ his sincerity with the promise, not discredit it.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Eugene was _enraged_.

Cassandra didn’t get to just show up right after almost killing his fiancé, shove some bird in their faces, and tell them it was Varian—It didn’t matter that the bird _kind of_ sounded like the young alchemist, Eugene had seen much crazier things.

And thinking back to everything Rapunzel and him had been through with Cass at their side only made him more furious over her actions.

Because it was their past together that had made him and Rapunzel hold onto hope despite the sting of betrayal; the memory of the Cass they knew made them refuse to believe she was irredeemable, refuse to accept that she couldn’t be saved.

But then she kidnapped Varian, and suddenly, it wasn’t just about saving Cass from herself, but also about saving Varian from Cassandra. 

Without warning, there were two lives at stake instead of one. 

And they’d failed to save both of them.

Eugene wasn’t stupid. When he and Rapunzel saw Varian for the last time, saw his hurt shoulder and bruised ankle and grotesquely twisted fingers, it had been as plain as day.

Cass was gone.

Because they all knew that, despite her tough talk and icy exterior, Cass would never deliberately hurt a kid—even if the kid had a… _rocky_ past. 

But she’d done it. And for what? Petty revenge? A stupid incantation? An obscure destiny? 

She’d hurt Varian for information—despite himself, Eugene’s mind shied away from the word torture—, and when she got that information… Well, it wasn’t that big of a jump considering the alchemist’s _visible_ injuries.

He wanted to believe Cassandra was telling the truth. He wanted so badly to believe it wasn’t a trick, that Cass was still in there somewhere… and that Varian was still alive… 

He missed the little brainiac… 

And heck, Rapunzel had already said she believed it was Varian! Normally, he’d be completely willing to just take her word for it; she’d rarely ever been wrong about this type of thing, but… 

This was different.

He didn’t want to get his hopes up only to be stabbed in the back— _again_ —because they were too trusting. That had happened to both him and Rapunzel one too many times.

And he was going to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Apparently seeking to placate her fiancé, Rapunzel put an entreating hand on his shoulder. 

“Eugene,” she said gently. “I believe them. That _is_ Varian.”

The captain looked at her sadly. “But what if it’s not? Rapunzel, what if this is just another trick? What if she’s just trying to get us to lower our guards so she can stab us in the back again?” 

“This isn’t a trick,” Cassandra spoke up, and suddenly, Eugene’s enmity was back in a flash.

“And how are we supposed to believe that?” he growled darkly. “How are we supposed to just take your word for it? _You’re_ the one who betrayed _us_ , Cassandra. _You’re_ the one who keeps trying to kill _us_. _You’re_ the one who kidnapped Varian. _You’re_ the one who- who hurt him for the incantation. _You’re_ the one who—” Eugene’s voice choked off abruptly and he cleared his throat before starting over, “You’re the one who killed him.”

Any response Varian might’ve come up with withered and died in his throat as his heart broke for his friend.

As if responding to her emotions, Cassandra’s black armor rustled ominously, sounding like a rattlesnake’s warning, and the spines on her shoulders shifted, making Varian recoil, his heart pumping faster. The Moonstone crackled a warning and the ground groaned as little black spikes slowly rose from the floor, their sharp, blue glow cutting through the warm light of the torches and casting shadows across the walls. 

“I didn’t _torture_ Varian, and I didn’t kill him either,” Cassandra growled, her voice dark and baleful as the spikes in the ground shot up a little higher, making both Eugene and Rapunzel have to jump back to avoid losing a foot.

“Cass…” Varian whispered hoarsely, his chest constricting as he fought to keep himself breathing at a steady pace. 

He wanted to close his eyes. 

More than anything he wanted to simply shut it all out and think only of good things, happy things, like his father and Ruddiger and his friends and his inventions. 

But he couldn’t. 

His eyes stayed as they were, stretched wide with mounting terror as memories of bad things, painful things, flashed through his mind quicker than he could process different scenes. The one constant that remained were the emotions, the panic, the helplessness, the _fear_. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Cass, please,” Rapunzel started imploringly, flinging an arm out in front of Eugene to keep him from charging at the woman. 

“I didn’t kill Varian,” Cassandra repeated with a snarl. “He’s alive and he is right in front of you.”

She glanced at her shoulder.

All at once, the black rocks stopped their advance and slammed back into the ground, taking their blue light with them as the Moonstone stopped crackling and Cassandra knelt down, carefully taking Varian from her shoulder and placing him on the floor.

All her anger, her fury at their accusations, dissolved into disgust. Disgust with herself. In less than four hours, she’d already managed to go back on her oath.

“Varian?” she tried, not daring to touch him for fear of worsening his state. “Varian, please, snap out of it. I’m sorry, I- I wasn’t thinking. Varian, wake up, it’s not—” But it _was_ real. Everything he was no doubt reliving had been real. What happened just then was real and in her defensiveness, her outrage, Cassandra had forgotten yet again what her anger could do, what it _had_ done.

Varian didn’t respond, her words not reaching him as he remained trapped within his own mind. His light blue eyes, overwhelmed with undiluted terror, darted around the corridor unseeingly as his pupils shrunk to minuscule pinpricks. His tiny, feathery chest shuddered and jerked, trying desperately to pull in the air that he couldn’t seem to get enough of. Ebony talons clicked against the stone floor and cerulean feathers shivered as he twitched and trembled, stuck in the past, stuck in the memories of the pain she had caused, and swore to never cause again.

“Your majesty!” a weary voice called from down the corridor. Slow footsteps echoed down the hall, but Cassandra didn’t care, she needed to make sure Varian was all right.

She turned back to the boy and was surprised, but no less relieved, to see that he appeared to be calming down, his heavy breathing evening out somewhat as his unfocused eyes slowly drifted to the floor. 

“Your majesty,” the voice repeated, sounding vaguely familiar. “Matthew said I should come to find you, he wouldn’t explain why.”

The footsteps halted and Cassandra chanced a brief glance up at the newcomer.

Only for her to freeze when she realized who they were. 

Quirin of Old Corona. 

Varian’s father. 

There was a light scampering of small paws from behind the man as Ruddiger appeared from around the corner and crawled up Quirin’s shirt, looking out of place on his broad shoulders compared to Varian’s narrow ones. 

The raccoon, she saw, was thinner, and he must not have been grooming himself as his fur was dull and matted. He glanced half-heartedly at Rapunzel and Eugene, his gaze apathetic, before curling up on Quirin’s shoulder and tucking his nose under his unkempt tail.

Meanwhile, standing there in dirty, wrinkled clothes, Quirin appeared just as haggard, if not, more. His gaunt face was drawn and tired as he respectfully inclined his head toward the princess and the captain, looking decades older than when she had last seen him. Not a trace was left of the man’s once proud, stubborn demeanor as his shoulders slumped in defeat under the unforgiving weight of exhaustion and grief.

His mournful brown eyes looked _hollow_ , devoid of light, of hope, as he waited for the princess’s response. 

Cassandra felt guilt claw at her insides as her mind whispered to her in a way that it hadn’t since she’d made her oath to Varian.

_It’s your fault. You did that to them. You took Ruddiger’s best friend. You took Quirin’s only son. You made them think he was dead, murdered in cold blood. It’s your fault, your fault, your fault!_

Before either Rapunzel or Eugene could respond to Quirin’s abrupt appearance, Ruddiger hissed loudly, his hackles rising as he pulled back his lips to show his teeth. 

Alarmed, Quirin scanned the hallway before freezing when his eyes landed on Cassandra’s kneeling form. 

She went rigid, unable to move, unable to speak. Her mouth going dry and her thoughts grinding to a halt as she tried desperately to find her voice.

Rapunzel quickly cut in, raising her hands in a calming gesture as she stumbled over her words, “Quirin! So, yeah, Cassandra’s here, but she—”

However, the man didn’t seem to hear her as his gaze narrowed in on Cassandra and his mouth twisted into a furious snarl. His heavy boots thudded loudly on the stone floor as he stalked towards her, his hollow eyes sparking with grief-fueled rage. 

“You!” he snarled.

“Dad?”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian trembled as the memories held him captive and the fear ravaged his mind with bursts of blue and black and pain and darkness.

But suddenly, there was a voice, an achingly familiar voice cutting through the darkness, pulling him out of the memories, freeing him from the fear. 

Varian sucked in a deep breath, gasping for the air he’d been deprived of only seconds before. The black spots began to clear from his vision and he took a shaky look around.

Before going deathly still.

“Dad?”

Quirin went motionless at the voice. His mouth opened and closed though no sound came out while his eyes darted around, searching desperately for his son. 

“Dad,” Varian repeated, the single word sounding strained. 

Suddenly, a terrifying thought struck him. 

What if his dad didn’t want him now that he’d got himself turned into a bird? What if this was the last straw? What if he abandoned him? What if he disowned him? What if he rejected Varian because, even if they fixed him, he wouldn’t be able to help out on the farm with his twisted fingers? What if he—

Quirin’s eyes snapped toward him and Varian’s mind stopped dead. It was as if all his worries were now holding their breath, waiting for his father’s verdict.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassie you are a mess.
> 
> Just to clarify, Eugene thinks that Cass tortured Varian for the incantation and that's why he was so injured.
> 
> I rewrote this chapter (plus the next one) three times and each time it just got more and more dramatic. XD
> 
> I hope Eugene didn't seem too OOC. On my third rewrite, I decided to make his reaction more extreme since I felt like he'd be the most likely to lash out bc: 1. he's grieving over Varian, 2. he's angry at Cass, and 3. he's trying to protect Rapunzel from more heartbreak.
> 
> I hope everything turned out all right!


	15. Reunions Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “‘Oh, Varian.’”  
> . . . .  
> "'What happened?'  
> 'It was my fault.'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to the climax!!! If I had to give an estimate, I'd say this story’ll have around 20-ish total chapters and 60,000+ words! :)))
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Eugene was so, so lost. 

First, Cassandra was all angry and dramatic, and then, out of the blue, she just stopped. 

His first thought after her sudden mood shift was that she’d gotten some sort of signal or something from her demonic little friend.

However, that theory had gone—mostly—out the window when the woman just plopped herself right down on the floor and completely ignored them. Like, what on earth was going on? Had he missed something?

And then, she put that stupid bird of hers—who was _not_ Varian—on the ground and started apologizing to it!

The concern she showed toward the talking animal made him feel… troubled, to say the least, and… hopeful, to say the most. 

Er, hopeful that she was surrendering! Not anything else! Because that would be absurd! What other _realistic_ thing did he have to hope for? Nothing, that’s what. 

Although, then again, Cassandra surrendering was also actually pretty unrealistic.

Perhaps… perhaps there was some truth to her words? She seemed so _genuine_ and _worried_ when she spoke, trying to break the bird out of what appeared to be a panic attack—though over what, he didn’t know. 

But Eugene didn’t want to get his hopes up— Well, no, he couldn’t _afford_ to get his hopes up, especially if it was only to have them squashed by a certain traitorous, Moonstone-wielding someone.

She must’ve just gotten attached to the bird or something, and that’s why she was acting so... concerned.

Anyway, while he’d been busy gawking at Cassandra, trying his best not to hope, Quirin showed up saying that someone told him to find them. 

In that instant, Eugene had questioned if the gods simply hated him ‘cause that timing could not have been worse. 

And so, when Quirin saw Cassandra, he understandably freaked out.

But then the bird called Quirin “Dad” and the man froze, his expression becoming utterly dumbfounded as he heard his son’s voice coming from a bird. 

Which led them to where they were now, with Quirin’s jaw hanging open and his eyes bugging out of his head while Ruddiger chattered in confusion from his shoulder.

However, when Eugene caught sight of the tiny seed of hope taking root in the man’s eyes, he spoke before anyone else could, not wanting to see the father get his hopes up just for it to end up being a trick. 

He wasn’t sure Quirin could survive losing his son a second time… Or if he would even want to.

“That might not be Varian,” Eugene told him before grimacing at his own bluntness. 

He felt Rapunzel give him a frustrated look but pretended not to notice as he asked a startled and very confused Quirin, “What’s something only Varian would know?” 

Being the kid’s dad, Eugene was confident he would know something about Varian that none of them—namely Cassandra—did.

Quirin’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click and he glanced between Eugene, Rapunzel, and Cassandra as if he thought one of them might jump in and say, “Gotcha! We’re just messin’ with ya!”

But when none of them did, he returned his gaze to the bird and contemplated it for a long moment. 

“How old were you when I bought your goggles and your first alchemy set?” he asked finally, neither his voice nor his face giving anything away.

Eugene looked at the bird for its response and, to his surprise, saw a few tears welling in its light blue eyes

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“You didn’t,” Varian said, a lump forming in his throat. “Mom gave me some of her old equipment when I was four, and I took her goggles from her things after she disappeared.” 

A long silence followed his answer, and Varian began to worry that he’d misunderstood the question.

However, his anxieties were put to rest when his dad took a step forward with glistening eyes and held out a palm for him to hop onto, completely ignoring Cassandra who’d tensed at the man’s approach. 

Varian obliged and his dad brought him up to cradle him carefully in his large hands, an elated smile growing on his face as his brown eyes sparkled with unshed tears of joy.

“Oh, Varian.” His father’s voice was thick with immeasurable relief as he held his son close to his broad chest. 

Varian found his eyes drifting shut as he melted into the grounding familiarity of his father’s presence. All of the stress that had built up from the last few days seemed to simply drain away, and he breathed out a contented sigh. The comforting smell of firewood and apples filled his nose as he pressed his face against his dad’s fur vest and inhaled deeply. He could have stayed like that forever, warm and safe in his father’s embrace.

But sadly, he was brought back to reality when something prodded his shoulder. Looking up, Varian saw that Ruddiger had crawled down his dad’s arm and was now examining his new avian body with wide, curious eyes. 

“Hey, buddy,” Varian said, stretching out his uninjured wing so Ruddiger could smell him. 

As the raccoon moved to study his feathered appendage, Varian was struck by how much bigger Ruddiger suddenly was compared to him. He winced inwardly as the memory of how he’d once mutated his loyal friend into a monstrous beast rose in his mind.

However, before he could delve deeper into that dark pit of memories, his father shifted and held Varian up to fully take in his feathered form. 

“Varian,” the man said, his heavy brow furrowing over his still slightly damp eyes. His voice held no disappointment or judgment, it was simply that of a confused and worried father wanting to understand. “What happened?” 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra took a deep breath before speaking. 

“It was my fault,” she said softly as she ducked her head in shame. 

Under any normal circumstance, she wouldn’t have even entertained the notion of displaying such vulnerability in front of other people, least of all Rapunzel or Eugene.

But she needed to say it, needed to confess and explain to the others exactly what she had done. And… 

She wanted them to hate her for it. She wanted them to be mad at her so she could feel like she was receiving some sort of punishment for her wrongdoings, like she was allowed to let go of some of her own self-hatred because she’d finally started paying for her actions. It was as if she had to see their disgust and hear their anger in order to start feeling a little less guilty.

So, with that thought in mind, Cassandra took off her stone-cold mask and allowed her shame and remorse to show for all to see. 

At her statement, several pairs of eyes snapped toward her, pinning her in place, and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself.

And despite the righteous anger in Eugene and Quirin’s stares and the burning disappointment in Rapunzel’s, it was Varian’s gaze that stood out from the rest. His light blue eyes weren’t angry or disappointed or _anything_ , they simply _were_. 

He watched her silently, not agreeing with her statement, but also not contradicting it, and somehow, even though she knew she deserved it because it _was_ her fault, that cut her deeper than any dagger. 

Which was fair, she shouldn’t expect him to defend her—and she didn’t—because she had done horrible, unforgivable things to him. And even after her oath, she had done it again, made him relive those horrible, unforgivable things again. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Varian was still shaking a little from the panic attack, the remaining adrenaline making his lean, avian muscles quiver. The slight trembling was causing his wing to feel like tiny needles were repeatedly poking into his skin, prickling throughout the limb. The sensation wasn’t particularly strong, but it was still prominent enough to make him uncomfortable.

He shifted, trying to will the trembling to stop, so he could answer his father’s question without sounding like a child with a quivering lip.

“It was my fault.”

Startled, Varian looked up to see Cassandra standing only a few feet away, hugging herself as she stared at the floor. 

She sounded so… _ashamed_. So remorseful.

He didn’t say anything for a moment, simply watching her. But as he took in the defeated slump of her shoulders and the fragile expression on her half-hidden face, Varian found himself empathizing with her.

And he hated it.

He wanted to be angry, he wanted to yell at her, he wanted to shout and scream and rage at the woman. 

Because she had broken her oath. Just like Rapunzel had broken her promise what felt like lifetimes ago. 

Cassandra had sworn that she would stop hurting him and start trying to make it up to him. But she’d done it again. She’d lost control again.

And Varian had to wonder when he’d stop paying the price.

… And when he’d stop reliving the past. 

However, the desire to give in to anger, to give in to spite, terrified him.

Because he’d tried that once. He’d let his rage consume him until all that was left was a jagged, shattered shell of his former self. And while he’d managed to piece himself back together bit by bit, he still wasn’t the same, and he knew he never would be.

But he’d made peace with that, he’d put his anger to rest, he’d conquered his fears.

Only, he hadn’t conquered all of them. 

Deep down, in the darkest, most despicable parts of himself, he was still afraid of one thing. 

Varian was afraid of his anger. He was afraid of the destruction he knew his hatred could bring.

He was afraid that, if he gave in to the vindictive fury lying dormant inside him, he would shatter again; only this time, the pieces would be too small, too sharp, for him to pick up and put back together. 

He hated his empathy for Cassandra, but his fear of that hate was more powerful than his anger. 

So he chose to simply accept the empathy. He knew how it felt to be in her shoes, after all.

When the Saporians had locked him up with Rapunzel, he’d been so, so ashamed and remorseful and defeated and _fragile_. 

His world was crashing down around him, and it was his fault.

 _Again_.

However, he’d managed to start making it right, he’d managed to start putting himself back together. But it was only because Rapunzel had given him her hand and believed that he _could_ put himself back together.

So now he felt obligated to give Cassandra a hand because, in all honesty, not to do so would be harsh and highly hypocritical of him. She didn’t deserve a hand, but neither had he, and yet, he’d gotten one and become better for it, so… 

What’s to say she wouldn’t too?

Varian sighed softly in resignation. “Cass,” he said. “This,” he gestured to his feathered face, “wasn’t your fault.”

Cassandra looked up, shock coloring her features for a moment before her expression dropped again. “But I’m still the one who got you into that situation in the first place,” she said miserably. “If it hadn’t been for me, Zhan Tiri wouldn’t have even—”

“Zhan Tiri?” Quirin echoed, his eyes squinting in confusion. “What does he have to do with any of this?”

“She,” Rapunzel corrected. “The legends got that bit a little mixed up.”

Cassandra’s brow furrowed. “How did you know that?” 

The princess glanced at her nervously. “We sort of had a conversation at the Spire… where she also pretty much told us that she was manipulating you…” Rapunzel trailed off and gave the other woman a tentative look, appearing wary of her reaction. 

“Huh,” was all Cassandra said. 

“I apologize, Your Majesty, but I’m afraid I’m still a bit lost,” Quirin interjected. 

“Allow me to give you the short version,” Eugene offered, stepping forward. “Recently, it has been revealed to us that Zhan Tiri is not only of the female gender but also, not a fairytale.” He paused and shot Cassandra a dirty look. “And _Cass_ here has been in cahoots with said goat lady since the beginning of this mess.”

Varian glanced at Cassandra for her reaction to the not at all veiled accusation. To his relief, she didn’t rise to the bait and instead merely said, “I didn’t know who she was until today.”

Eugene looked dumbfounded. “And you trusted her anyway?”

However, before the conversation could get heated again, Rapunzel stepped in. “Eugene, now isn’t really the time,” she told him. “Why don’t we…” The princess tilted her head in the direction of a nearby room. “So we can sit down and talk. _Civilly_ ,” she added, giving everyone a stern look that was mimicked by Pascal as she headed toward the room.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Rapunzel held open the oak door to reveal a vacant guest room and gestured for everyone to go in.

Eugene shrugged to himself and entered the room followed closely by Quirin, still holding Varian and Ruddiger. 

Cassandra came in last, keeping her eyes down as Rapunzel closed the door behind her.

Once the door was latched, the princess strode across the room to sit next to Eugene on the edge of the bed while Quirin set Varian and Ruddiger on the table and pulled out a chair for himself. Cassandra walked over to a window where she would be out of the way and crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall.

Rapunzel clasped her hands in her lap. “Alright, um, I guess let’s just get back to, uh… yeah.” The princess suddenly looked uncertain before she took a breath and looked over at Cassandra. “Why don’t you start right after you kidnapped Varian?”

Cassandra cringed slightly and saw Varian wince as well at Rapunzel’s bluntness. Likely in an attempt to comfort, Ruddiger nuzzled his face against the boy, but in doing so, promptly knocked him over. 

“Oof! Ruddiger!” Varian warbled loudly in indignation, and Cassandra took a step forward, worried he landed on his wing.

However, before she could take another step, Quirin chuckled lightly and put his hand out, pushing the concerned raccoon back and allowing his son to get to his feet. 

And although he looked disgruntled, Varian didn’t appear to be in any pain, so Cassandra allowed herself to relax.

Before immediately stiffening again as six sets of eyes latched onto her face. Knowing they were waiting for her to begin, she cleared her throat and tried to find the right words.

“Well,” Cassandra started, feeling far less confident as she avoided everyone’s gaze. She cleared her throat again, suddenly feeling hot within her armor. “After, um, _that_ ,” she gestured vaguely toward Rapunzel to reference the aforementioned kidnapping, “I, uh, we? Went to Rapunzel’s tower and I- I tied Varian to some of the wreckage while I waited for him to wake up. After a little while, I decided to go through his bag and I found a vial of that truth serum he made and- and decided to use it. I gave it to him while he was unconscious, and once he woke up, I had him—“ She broke off and reiterated, “I _made_ him tell me the incantation.”

Cassandra allowed herself to take a slightly shaky breath before continuing. This was where everything went to hell. 

“After I made the tower, I took him up to the top, and I was- I was fully intending on just letting him stay up there until Rapunzel arrived, but he- Varian started trying to reason with me, and I- I didn’t listen. I didn’t _want_ to listen, so I—“ Her words got stuck in her throat as everyone’s eyes suddenly felt like they were scorching holes through her soul. 

“Cass… ” Varian said softly, his voice sounding strangled and distant before falling silent once more.

Cassandra’s throat closed up despite herself, and the words fled from her grasp as the air within the quiet room became strained. 

It was only after an eternity had passed that she managed to find her voice again. “And I didn’t- I didn’t mean to, but I- I got mad,” Cassandra forced out. “I lost control.”

And though she kept her eyes on the floor, Rapunzel’s disappointment and Eugene’s hostility was just as intense as if she’d been looking at them. 

However, Cassandra found that the worst came from Quirin. 

At her words, the man’s gaze had grown ten times fiercer, searing through her very being as he glared white-hot daggers at her bowed head. 

Suffice to say, if looks could kill, she’d have died yesterday.

“And just how exactly did you ‘lose control’?” Quirin ground out darkly through his clenched jaw as his hands slid across the tabletop to hold his son protectively.

The tension in the room was so thick one wouldn’t have been able to cut it with even a carbon steel longsword. 

Or at least it was until Varian suddenly yelped, his avian voice chirping in pain as he jolted violently from his father’s grasp. 

Immediately, Quirin’s eyes went wide as his expression became one of startled panic, and he whipped his hands away from his son.

“Varian!” Cassandra exclaimed, her voice fraught with agitation and concern. Thinking the story might’ve somehow triggered another panic attack, she took several steps forward, unconsciously reaching out for the boy, before Ruddiger snarled at her from the table and she stopped in her tracks.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Varian assured them quickly, straightening up. He gave his dad an apologetic look. “Sorry, your grip was just a bit too…” The alchemist trailed off for a moment, his eyes going unfocused before he roughly shook his head. “Too tight,” he finished stiffly. 

Cassandra watched Quirin’s eyes fill with dismay as he realized that he’d unintentionally squeezed his son’s broken wing. “Oh, Varian, I’m so sorry, son. Are you sure it—”

Varian waved him off. “Don’t worry, Dad, my wing’s fine,” he told him before suddenly backtracking. “Well, obviously not ‘fine’, but, like, I’ve gotten used to it. I mean, it still hurts, but it’s bearable most of the time. Like, every once in a while, the area just kinda gets numb and tingly, and I can more or less ignore it… Which, now that I think about it, would suggest some degree of nerve damage— I’m not helping, am I?” Varian glanced at everyone sheepishly when he noticed their horrified expressions. “Sorry, um, but yeah, it’s, uh, it’s fine.” 

Cassandra felt nauseated.

After a long moment, Rapunzel coughed awkwardly. “Um, so anyways, uh…” She cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable. “Um, go ahead, Cassandra,” she finished feebly.

Still feeling somewhat sick to her stomach, Cassandra hugged her arms around herself once more and attempted to speak past the lump of emotion in her throat. “I lost control,” she repeated finally, trying not to choke as regretful tears began welling in her eyes. It was only through sheer desperation to get it all out that she managed to keep going. “And I hit Varian with the rocks. He- It dislocated his shoulder, and he landed on his hand. All of his fingers were broken except for his thumb.”

At the confession, Quirin and Eugene made simultaneous noises of outrage and both stood up with clenched fists and narrowed eyes.

“Dad,” Varian said from the tabletop, his voice uncharacteristically commanding. “Sit down.”

Quirin opened his mouth to protest but Varian cut him off.

“Sit down,” he repeated firmly. 

Seeing how serious his son was, Quirin reluctantly obeyed, though his scalding glare did not abate for even a second. 

Meanwhile, Rapunzel had put her hand on Eugene’s chest and pushed him back down onto the bed—much to the captain’s frustration—before nodding at Cassandra to continue with an impassive look on her face; however, her expressive green eyes said all that her voice did not.

Trying to ignore the righteous anger emanating from the two seething men, Cassandra took another deep breath, which sounded more like a wheeze, and forced herself to resume her narrative, doing her best not to break down. “He- He passed out, and I reset his shoulder and straightened out most of his fingers, but—” Cassandra almost gagged as a vivid image of the gruesome angle of his ring finger and the crooked ‘C’ of his pinky flashed through her mind. “But I couldn’t fix all of them,” she whispered.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

When Cassandra fell silent, Varian looked up from where he was attempting to distract himself by petting Ruddiger. 

Seeing the glistening tears she was trying valiantly to hold back, he felt somewhat obligated to pick up where she’d left off and give her a chance to collect herself. 

“And when I woke up the next morning,” he found himself saying, “Zhan Tiri was watching me, only I didn’t know it was Zhan Tiri at the time.” 

Varian saw his dad’s jaw tighten, and Cassandra glanced up in confusion as she opened her mouth to question him. However, he didn’t acknowledge either of them and forged ahead. “She gave me a hint for how to find the fourth incantation… ‘Use the sun to see the Sun’,” he said using air quotations as his voice became flat. “And then she stuck her hand through me. So _that_ was a pleasant experience.” Bitter sarcasm dripped from his overly cheerful tone, and Varian had to hold back a shudder as he recalled the freezing-boiling pain of having his molecules fight another’s for space within his own body. 

“Anyways, um,” he continued, shaking off the memory as he unconsciously started petting Ruddiger again with his wing. “So, that’s when Cass came back and we- we argued for a little while, and…” He trailed off, remembering the manacle around his ankle and how it tightened at Cassandra’s will. How it squeezed and chafed and crushed and—

Focus on Ruddiger. Focus on his… apparently very dirty fur. Geez, he needed a bath. 

“And then,” Varian resumed, trying to hide the slight tremor accompanying his words by talking a little faster. “Um, and then she left again and—”

“Varian,” Cassandra interrupted wearily, her voice sounding a little rough.

His only response was a vaguely frustrated huff. Couldn’t she see he was doing her a favor? It was like she wanted everyone to be mad at her! 

And besides, Varian wasn’t just doing it for her. 

He could see clear as day how rundown his dad was, and he wasn’t particularly keen on making the man worry even _more_. It was bad enough his wing looked like it had been caught in a wagon wheel, his father didn’t need to know about _every_ injury; Varian would never be allowed to leave the house again, otherwise. And his ankle had healed—somehow—, so what did it matter?

“I almost crushed his ankle because he was asking about things that I didn’t want to consider,” Cassandra said hoarsely before he could stop her.

“But it’s fine now,” he interjected quickly. “Because it healed when I turned into a bird.”

And without giving anyone the chance to say anything, either to Cassandra or about his explanation, Varian resumed the narrative. “So anyways, a couple hours later, Pascal showed up and hid behind the rocks for a few minutes with me before Cass found him, and then Rapunzel and Eugene came—”

“Max, Lance, Angry, and Catalina were there too,” Eugene added, earning hard looks from Rapunzel and Quirin for interrupting. He shrank into himself and gave Varian an apologetic look. “Heh, uh, sorry, not important. Er, continue.”

“Okay, um…” Varian cleared his throat, thrown off by the interruption. “So, yeah, you know what happened after that, and uh, it gets kinda- kinda fuzzy right there, um—” He cut himself off, screwing up his eyes in thought as he tried to remember what happened next. 

“You got a concussion from some of the debris thrown around in the explosion,” Cassandra reminded him quietly from where she stood by the window.

“Yeah, uh, that sounds about right,” Varian agreed as the hazy memory began coming back to him, albeit slowly. “So, um, basically the next evening, Cass came back from wherever she went, pointed me in the direction of the main road, and told me I could go home,” he said plainly, deciding it might only give him a headache if he tried to remember all the muddled details of that day.

“But then why—” Eugene started before Varian gave the man a look.

“If you’ll let me finish.” 

Eugene closed his mouth with a sheepish grin. “Yeah, right, sorry. I’ll just let you… yeah.”

Despite it being the second interruption from the ex-thief, Varian couldn’t hold in the small smile that crept onto his mouth. He’d missed Eugene. 

“Yeah, so anyways, I think I got lost after a while, the concussion would probably explain that, and sometime later Zhan Tiri showed up out of nowhere and just knocked me out. Next thing I know, it’s like four o’clock in the morning and I’m a bird…” 

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

“Princess, you probably told them about everything that happened in the cavern already, right?” Varian inquired so he could skip over the events under the mountain.

“Yeah, but Varian?” Rapunzel asked, her forehead creasing slightly in confusion. “Why did you… ya know, freak out in the pit when Cass caught you?”

“Oh, I…” Varian’s voice died in his throat and he glanced at Cassandra, who was boring holes through the window with her eyes. “I, um… I… It was the rocks. Like before,” Varian told her resignedly, referring to his previous panic attack when Cassandra almost brought the mountain down on them. “And it- it caught around my ankle, which reminded me of a manacle, so I, uh… yeah.” 

Everyone glanced at his injured ankle, and Varian couldn’t help but look away, ashamed of his weakness. 

A large, heavily calloused finger entered his field of vision as it moved under his chin and lifted his head up, forcing him to look at his father. 

“Varian,” his dad said gently. “It’s alright.”

And despite the vagueness of the statement, Varian found his words comforting nonetheless. 

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

“Wait. Back up, buddy,” Eugene said, putting his hands up in a time-out signal. “Lemme get this straight. Zhan Tiri, the demon goat lady of our nightmares, has escaped the Lost Realm? The place that was supposed to hold her forever? And now she’s, like, _fully_ in our dimension?”

“She’s colorized, too,” Varian told him drily by way of confirmation.

“Oh.” Eugene’s voice was feeble. “Oh, that’s just- that’s just great… Fantastic…” 

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

“So you only have one more day before…?” Quirin trailed off despairingly, gazing at his brilliant son who seemed to attract trouble wherever he went.

Varian nodded sadly in answer to the unfinished question, looking up at him with those big, intelligent blue eyes of his. 

Quirin’s heart leapt into his throat as his stomach dropped to his feet.

He’d already lost Varian once, he couldn’t do it again. 

He refused to do it again.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra folded into herself even further as Varian described how the world had exploded in black rocks when they confronted Zhan Tiri in the tower. She knew what was coming next.

“...And while I was, erm, freaking out,” Varian was saying, “Cass was trying to fight Zhan Tiri, but she kept shadow-jumping. And at one point, Cass swung her sword at Zhan Tiri and I was in the way, but before the blade could hit me, a rock shot up and stopped it.”

Cassandra wanted to interject, feeling like he’d glossed over it too much, but nothing he’d said was incorrect; she _had_ been swinging at Zhan Tiri, it just turned out that what her turbulent mind thought was Zhan Tiri, had actually been Varian.

“And I think I might’vepassedoutafterthat,” the alchemist continued, speeding up his words and making them hard to understand—probably on purpose in an attempt to save his dignity without omitting too many details.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

Just outside the window, the velvety darkness of night was beginning to fade into the hazy grey of dawn, the stars winking out one by one as the sun began its daily ascent into the heavens. 

However, oddly enough, the moon remained where it was, hanging in the sky, leering down at them as if to boast, “Not even the sun can chase me away.”

Varian and Cassandra concluded their narrative at the point where they’d entered the castle, and the room lapsed into a thoughtful silence. 

No one mentioned the alchemist’s now evident panic attack in the hallway; they all understood what had happened.

Suddenly, Eugene looked over at Varian again. “So that thing in the corridor…” He trailed off soberly before picking back up again. “You were… fading out? Going bird-brained?”

Rapunzel saw Varian and Cassandra share a look before Varian gave Eugene a somber nod, and the princess had to repress a shudder.

She remembered the feeling of going bird-brained, how the words dissolved in her mind until all that was left were nameless memories. How the constant influx of sights, sounds, tastes, and smells that she couldn’t articulate was almost overwhelming, but not quite. How her friends were reduced to unrecognizable animals as she struggled to remember who they were without remembering in words, without even remembering why they were important.

Rapunzel also remembered how it was terrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know, laying it all out in one place really made me see how horrible I am to Varian... I'm probably not gonna stop though lol. XD
> 
> I hope everyone turned out all right. I was agonizing over each person's POV and reactions for days trying to make them all sound in character and like their own individual.  
> Let me know what you think!


	16. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "'So how are we going to get the Teapot without giving Rapunzel or the Moonstone to Lady Goat-Face?' Eugene asked the assembled group.  
> Varian groaned, sick and tired of hearing the question.  
> Probably because no one had an answer."  
> . . . .  
> “‘Cassandra?’ Quirin called suddenly. “May I speak with you for a moment?’”  
> . . . .  
> "'I'm running out of time.'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which the group needs a plan, Varian does alchemy (sorta), Cass gets a strange version of the shovel talk, and Eugene's gotta pee.
> 
> I meant to post this on Christmas as a sort of "present" for you all, but I got caught up in the holiday and wasn't able to finish editing in time. :(   
> To make up for it, though, this chapter's _super_ long!

Despite his best efforts, Varian found his eyelids beginning to droop as he sat on the tabletop next to Ruddiger. 

No. He needed to stay awake, so he could help plan for… their… 

Ruddiger was so warm… 

He shook his head, trying to fend off the creeping exhaustion that had begun to plague him, though he knew it was a futile effort. Gradually, a pleasant buzz slowed his thoughts and the voices of the others faded away as his eyes drifted closed and his body relaxed. Sleep whispered sweet nothings in his ears and a soothing darkness caressed his mind, easing him into unconsciousness… 

Varian was jerked out of his doze by a rumbling gurgle coming from his own stomach.

Ruddiger chittered in concern next to him and Varian glanced up, blinking the bleariness out of his eyes as he noticed that the sun was now halfway above the horizon.

“I’m fine, buddy,” he assured his faithful friend. “Just tired and apparently hungry.” 

His stomach grumbled again in affirmation. 

“Your Majesty?” Quirin asked suddenly, taking advantage of the lull in the slightly tense conversation. “Perhaps we could continue our strategizing in the kitchens?”

If Varian could’ve blushed, he would’ve; he hadn’t realized his dad was listening. 

“I believe Varian’s hungry,” his father finished, and Varian let out a mortified squawk. 

Quirin gave him a stern look, though his eyes held a hint of amusement. “I could hear your stomach from here,” he said.

“Well, yeah, but— Ugh, nevermind.” Varian abandoned his protests when his stomach growled again and instead simply gave a chirring huff to make his disgruntlement known.

“Of course we can!” Rapunzel said kindly. The princess took Eugene’s hand in hers and the couple stood up from the bed.

Quirin nodded in appreciation and put his hand out for Varian. 

Sighing dramatically, but inwardly grateful, Varian hopped onto his dad’s palm and Ruddiger leapt over him to sit on Quirin’s shoulders. 

Still trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep, Varian stumbled when his dad began moving toward the door before quickly righting himself and moving to grip his father’s index finger with his talons to keep steady.

“Cass?” he heard Rapunzel say behind them. “You coming?” 

“Uh, yeah. Yeah…” Cassandra said after a moment, sounding vaguely startled at being addressed so casually. 

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

After everyone had eaten something—minus Cassandra, which baffled Varian; she had to be as hungry as he’d been—, they’d gotten back to trying to devise a plan.

“So how are we going to get the Teapot without giving Rapunzel or the Moonstone to Lady Goat-Face?” Eugene asked the assembled group.

Varian groaned, tired of hearing the question, and had to resist the urge to slam his head into the tabletop. Ever since he and Cassandra had finished their narrative, it’s all anyone had been asking.

Probably because no one had an answer.

The room went silent as everyone thought it over.

Suddenly, Cassandra growled in frustration and Varian tensed minutely before forcing his muscles to relax, mentally berating himself for the reaction.

“Ugh! There’s no way! Zhan Tiri’s got us backed into a corner!” the woman said bitterly. “We’ve only got, what? Five? Six hours? Till her deadline, and probably even less for Varian!” 

As soon as she said it, Cassandra winced and threw Varian a remorseful look. “Sorry.”

“It’s the facts,” he said, with a dejected sigh. 

“Oh, come on guys!” Rapunzel interjected with a smile of encouragement. “It’s not that bad! We’ll figure this—”

The princess broke off with a gasp, stumbling back into one of the kitchen tables and knocking several pieces of kitchenware onto the floor as she grasped the edge in an attempt to steady herself. 

After a second, she appeared to recover from whatever had afflicted her and began to straighten before suddenly gasping again and falling to the floor, clutching her chest. 

“Princess!” Varian exclaimed, rushing across the tabletop as three other cries filled the air. 

“Rapunzel!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Raps!”

Eugene slid to his knees next to his fiancé, pulling her head into his lap as Quirin stooped down next to them. Pascal squeaked worriedly from where he leaned over the edge of the counter he’d been sitting on, and Ruddiger chittered as he came up next to Varian. Cassandra remained where she was, looking for all the world like someone worried for their best friend. 

“I- I’m fine, I’m just— Whoa.” Rapunzel’s voice abruptly became one of shock and confusion as she sat up and lowered her hands, revealing a strange, golden-yellow gem on her chest.

The whole room suddenly felt warm in the strange rock’s presence, though not overwhelmingly so; it was a pleasant warmth, one that brushed softly across Varian’s face like a playful summer breeze. The stone itself was round and polished, humming with otherworldly energy as it radiated an inviting golden light. Its smooth surface gleamed and swirled, looking as though tongues of liquid flame were trapped inside, the ever-changing patterns almost mesmerizing in their steady fluidity. 

“The Sundrop…” Cassandra whispered in awe. “So that’s why Zhan Tiri’s deadline is today.”

“What do you mean?” Rapunzel asked as Eugene helped her stand. “What happened? Why do I feel… _weaker_ all of a sudden?” 

“Well, um.” Cassandra suddenly looked hesitant. “Zhan Tiri mentioned once that an eclipse would be happening soon and it would be the best time to… to attack because it’s when the Sundrop— when _you_ would be at your weakest… I just didn’t realize it was _today_.”

“Well, that’s just perfect!” Eugene exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration as he began pacing the kitchen.

Varian ignored the man in favor of studying the Moonstone against the Sundrop. 

Where the Moonstone flashed and crackled coldly, discharging almost imperceptible flickers of sharp blue light, the Sundrop rippled and hummed with warmth as it emanated a soft golden glow.

To put it simply, the two were exactly like night and day: completely different, yet still the same sky. 

“Fascina—” Varian’s awed murmur was cut off when Eugene suddenly yelped in surprise and a heavy thump echoed through the room.

Looking up, he saw that the captain had apparently tripped on some of the kitchenware that Rapunzel had knocked onto the floor. The man was lying flat on his back, a comically shocked look on his face as he stared up at the ceiling with his mouth open in a small ‘o’.

“Um, Eugene?” Rapunzel asked her fiancé tentatively, breaking the silence that had filled the kitchen. “Are you all right?” 

Eugene didn’t answer and Varian heard a muffled snigger next to him. Glancing over, he saw Cassandra covering her mouth as she attempted to hide a smile. 

“Dummy,” she snickered, and Eugene’s head whipped around to glare at her, which only made the woman laugh harder.

However, Varian ignored all of this, his brain fixating on only one word.  
“Dummy”.

An image of the dummy he’d made to trick Rapunzel and the King flashed through his mind.

Dummy, as in, a substitute for the real thing.

A counterfeit.

A fake.

…A copy.

Varian’s eyes widened as a plan formed in his mind. 

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra glanced nervously out the window to see the sun had completely cleared the horizon. Quirin, Varian, and Ruddiger had already left the kitchens, heading toward Quirin’s guest chambers. Apparently, he’d been staying in the castle for the last few days, and he needed to gather a few things before they set out.

“Cass,” Rapunzel called behind her.

She stiffened automatically, thinking the worst, before quickly schooling her expression into one of casual indifference and turning to the princess.

Eugene glanced between Rapunzel and Cassandra, appearing hesitant to leave his fiancé, but, at a look from Rapunzel, eventually gave in and left, though not without shooting Casandra a warning look. 

She rolled her eyes in response.

Hearing Rapunzel take a step toward her, Cassandra reluctantly faced the princess once more and braced herself for harsh words and disappointed eyes. However, she found herself taken by surprise when a dinner roll was suddenly shoved into her hands.

After a moment of staring uncomprehendingly at the roll, Cassandra recovered and narrowed her eyes. “I already said I wasn’t—”

Rapunzel cut her off with a deadpan look. “Cass, I could hear your stomach from across the room.”

Despite herself, Cassandra blushed and fell silent before slowly taking a bite of the roll, if only to appease the princess. 

And then devoured the whole thing. 

Her stomach gurgled happily at the food; she hadn’t realized just how hungry she was. It made sense though. She hadn’t eaten anything since that morning—or rather, yesterday morning—and whatever she had eaten came right back up at the tower. 

With a knowing glint in her eye, Rapunzel handed her another roll.

Even though it was cold—likely having been leftover from dinner the night before—, it tasted heavenly. Cassandra hadn’t eaten any food from the castle kitchens in over a year and she’d sorely missed it. 

However, a thought struck her midbite and she stopped to look at the princess. “Why are you being nice to me?” she asked, genuinely confused. “If you didn’t despise me before, then you should certainly hate me now. You have more reason than most… Other than Varian, I guess.”

Rapunzel sighed, glancing away as if she’d been expecting the question. After a moment, her green eyes looked up into Cassandra’s face. “Honestly? I… I don’t know. What you did to Varian was… _awful_ , but…” She paused as if thinking over her next words very carefully. “I know you didn’t mean to do it.”

Cassandra opened her mouth to interject, but Rapunzel held out a hand to stop her. “Cass,” she said. “I _know_ you didn’t mean it because I can look into your eyes and I can see how- how _horrified_ and _guilty_ you feel about it, how you loathe yourself for it.” Cassandra flinched slightly as the princess took her hands with her own. “What matters is that it was an accident; you didn’t mean to do it. Yes, you still need to take responsibility for your actions because, while it was unintentional, you still did it, but that doesn’t mean you need to be so hard on yourself.”

Rapunzel smiled, her green eyes sparkling with emotion and conviction as the Sundrop hummed and swirled on her chest. “And Cass? I missed you.”

At her admission, Cassandra felt herself soften, just a little, and she gave the princess a small smile. 

Maybe Varian was right, maybe all she needed to do was talk to Rapunzel, get everything out.

She took a deep, calming breath. “Rapun— _Raps_... Can we- Can we talk?”

At that moment, the princess’s smile could’ve outshone the Sun itself.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

As they walked toward his temporary quarters, Quirin couldn’t help but sigh.

“Varian?” he asked, looking down at the boy he held in his palm. It was still strange to look for his son, only to see a bird in his place. “Are you sure I should be the one to go? I’m certain that the Captain is fully capable of finding the dwarf. In fact, he would probably be able to locate him faster.”

Varian gave him a small, knowing smile. “Dad,” he said gently. “I’ll be fine.”

Quirin could only sigh again, his worries not at all diminished.

“And besides,” Varian added, “the thugs can be temperamental, and not all of them like Eugene. They might just as easily decide to turn him away simply for the fun of it. They won’t turn you away because…” He chuckled slightly. “Well, you’re a lot more intimidating than Eugene.”

Quirin’s brow furrowed, but, truthfully, he could understand what his son meant: Eugene Fitzherbert was a great many things, but intimidating wasn’t usually one of them. 

An uncomfortable silence fell between them as Quirin turned the corner and stopped outside the door to his guest chambers.

He exhaled heavily before once again dropping his gaze to his son. “And you’re certain about this plan of yours?”

Varian sighed. “Dad, I know it’s a really, really stupid plan because there’s a very good chance that she might not even fall for it but… it’s the best we’ve got,” he said. “I’m as certain as I’ll ever be.”

Knowing his son was right, Quirin let out a sigh of defeat as he opened the door and stepped inside his room. 

“If that’s the case,” he said, “then so be it… But I want you to know, son, that no matter what happens, I will always love you, and no matter how this all turns out, I will always be proud of you.”

Varian broke out into a smile, his big blue eyes glistening with happiness, and for a moment, Quirin didn’t see the feathers and the beak and the broken wing, all he saw was his beautiful, brilliant son.

And that was all he needed to see, nothing else mattered.

“I love you too, Dad.”

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

They made it to Old Corona in record time. Max, Fidella, and his dad’s horse all pushing themselves to the limit to get to the village as fast as possible

However, despite their impressive travel time, the sun had still risen over a quarter of the way across the sky by the time they arrived at Varian and Quirin’s house.

As soon as they dismounted, the alchemist got straight to business.

“All right, so we need to make four casings total, two of them being smaller, and one of the small ones being copper. The bigger casings will hold the chemicals producing the light and color, and the smaller casings will contain the temperature altering reactants.” 

He huffed frustratedly. “If I had more time—and opposable thumbs—then I would try and find a way to balance out the chemicals so the reactions could happen separately while still being in the same shell, but seeing as we don’t, we’re just going to have to deal with the, uh, _clunkier_ version.”

The others just stared at him blankly as they headed inside, but Varian didn’t notice, too absorbed in the new project after being kept away from his beloved alchemy for what felt like years.

“For the colors and the glowing, I’ll need hydrogen peroxide and phenyl oxalate ester— Oh, and some dye, like fluorophore or something.

“And in order to create the exothermic reaction, we need to put calcium chloride and water inside the small copper shell, which’ll be the best for conducting the heat. Now, I haven’t done any thorough experiments on how long the calcium chloride and water reaction will last, so we’re just gonna hafta cross our fingers that it’ll be long enough.”

He took a deep breath before resuming his scientific explanation.

“Creating the endothermic reaction should be somewhat easier, but I’m gonna need to make some liquid nitrogen, and not only could that be dangerous, but it’ll also take a while.”

Varian took another breath.

“We’re also gonna need some of my goo—”

Before he could continue, Eugene cut in. “Varian, buddy, none of us have any idea what you’re saying.”

Varian went silent for a moment before grinning sheepishly at the group. “Oh, uh, sorry. I got carried away.”

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

“Thanks for helping, Eugene,” Varian said as he directed the man around his lab. “I’d just do this all myself, but obviously the wings are uh…” He flapped his uninjured wing with a bitter smile. 

Ruddiger chittered sympathetically from where he sat beside him on the table.

“Hey, no problem, kid,” Eugene assured him with an easy smile as he measured out the calcium chloride. “Team Awesome, right?”

“Yeah, Team Awesome…” Varian agreed distractedly as he gazed around his old lab. 

It had been _months_ since he’d been in Old Corona, having spent the last four weeks before his kidnapping decoding the Scroll in the Demanitus Chamber. The old lab looked the same as ever, if a little dusty. The familiar scene was calming, but it held a hint of sadness to it: if his plan didn’t work and he got stuck as a bird forever, then the lab would become nothing more to him than just a room in a house. All the memories he’d made, both good and bad, would be dust in the wind, meaningless and forgotten as he lost his mind to avian instincts.

“Hey, um, Varian?” Eugene asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had permeated the lab. 

Varian looked over to see he had stopped measuring out the chemicals and was now leaning forward against the desk, his head bowed. 

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure about this plan? I mean, I know you’re brilliant and all, but I think a one thousand-year-old demon-sorceress-goat-lady is gonna be able to tell the diff—”

Varian cut him off. “Eugene, believe me, I _know_ ,” he said, trying to keep his frustration from leaking into his voice. “I know this is a stupid plan, but I don’t see anyone else offering another solution.” 

The captain watched him wordlessly for a moment before refocusing on the beakers in front of him.

Varian slumped, his wings drooping as he heaved a sigh.

Several minutes passed before Eugene spoke again.

“Kid?” the man started, turning his head to look Varian in the eyes. “Look, I want to apologize for how I was acting earlier at the castle. I should’ve at least given you the benefit of doubt, but instead, I jumped straight to betrayal and trickery, and… yeah, I’m sorry.” 

Varian gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry, Eugene, it’s fine, really. You were just being cautious,” he told him. 

“No, no. It’s not fine,” Eugene insisted, turning to face him fully. “I wasn’t just trying to be cautious, I was trying to pick a fight. I was angry and upset, and I let my emotions get the better of me. As Captain of the Guards, I’m not supposed to let that happen, but I did, and for that, I’m sorry.” 

Varian hopped across the table toward him. “Eugene, really, it’s okay,” he said sincerely. “Trust me, I _understand_.”

Comprehension dawned in the man’s eyes. “Yeah, I guess you would, wouldn’t you?” he murmured softly, and Varian got the feeling he hadn’t been meant to hear that, so he didn’t respond.

After another moment, Eugene sighed and nodded. “Okay.”

The lab went quiet once more as Eugene returned to the chemicals. 

Varian thought over the conversation and a mischievous grin found its way onto his face. This time, he was the one to break the silence. “So you were upset?” he asked the captain cheekily. “Aw, Eugene, didja really miss me that much? I’m touched.” He put a wing over his chest dramatically. 

Eugene barked out a laugh and replied, “In your dreams, kid! The only things I missed were your hair serums.”

Varian chuckled. “Right, right, you keep tellin’ yourself that.” 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Alright, Quirin,” Rapunzel said as they headed outside after the father said a quick farewell to his son. “Shorty should be at the Snuggly Duckling, but if he’s not, then just head to the tower. Tell the others to keep an eye out for him, and that if they find him, to bring him to the castle and wait there until we get back.”

Quirin nodded as he checked the saddle on his horse, tightening the straps as needed.

The princess wrung her hands, thinking. She wished Lance, Angry, and Catalina were there, they could really use the extra help. But, sadly, the three former thieves had volunteered two days ago to help search for Varian on the far side of the kingdom and weren’t due to return until late that evening. A messenger had been sent out to inform them of the situation, but Rapunzel had little hope they would even _get_ the message before noon, let alone reach the tower in time for the confrontation with Zhan Tiri.

As if sensing her inner turmoil, the Sundrop hummed on her chest, warm and comforting, reassuring her that all would be well in the end.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Cassandra?” Quirin called suddenly, straightening up next to his horse. His body remained angled toward the mare as he looked over his shoulder to address her. “May I speak with you for a moment?” 

It was clear he wasn’t asking. 

Next to the man, Rapunzel’s brow creased in concern, her expression becoming uneasy. 

Cassandra tensed from where she was leaning against the side of the house. 

This wasn’t going to be pretty. 

Nevertheless, she gave Quirin a stiff nod and pushed herself upright, trying—and failing miserably—to feign indifference. 

Anxious thoughts plagued her mind as she began making her way over to the pair standing at the edge of the road. What exactly did Quirin want with her?— Well, she knew what he probably wanted, but would he really go that far? Even with the role she had to play in Varian’s plan? 

All of a sudden, Cassandra became distinctly aware of how hot the sun felt as it glared down at her, making sweat prickle on her forehead despite the dry air. The dust that got kicked up as she walked down the dirt path seemed to coat her tongue, and her teeth felt gritty as she clenched her jaw in an attempt to keep her rising apprehension under control. 

However, despite her efforts, her agitation still increased when she saw Quirin turn to murmur something to Rapunzel. After he was done speaking, the princess cast a brief glance at Cassandra, her eyes apologetic, before responding with a sigh and a single nod, to which the man gave her a strained, but grateful, look. 

Cassandra felt her stomach drop as Rapunzel turned on her heel and began walking toward the house, apparently having agreed to leave her to face Quirin alone. 

It was strange really, she’d confronted much worse than the former Brotherhood member and still came out on top, and yet, for the first time, Cassandra felt her nerves of steel begin to quake. 

Perhaps it was because this was something she knew she couldn’t simply cut down with her sword and forget about. 

This was something she had to face and simply accept the consequences for.

When they passed each other, Rapunzel sent her a smile that was probably meant to be encouraging, however, the disquiet in the princess’s green eyes ruined the effect and therefore did little to ease her conscience. 

Cassandra stopped a few feet away from Quirin and crossed her arms stiffly, making sure to keep out of his arm’s reach.

Quirin appeared to notice this as he turned around to face her fully and a small, faintly amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I would say that I do not wish to harm you,” he told her, “but I’m afraid that would be a lie.”

Cassandra couldn’t hold back a wince at the blunt honesty and unmistakable warning.

“However,” the man continued, “I cannot deny that you are likely my son’s best chance of becoming human again. Thus, for that reason and that reason only, I will… _refrain_ from harming you.” Quirin gave her a sharp look at this, letting Cassandra know that he still held her at fault for Varian’s current state regardless.

Fair enough.

“But.” Quirin's tone darkened as he crossed the last few feet of space between them and stopped only inches in front of her. His broad frame dwarfed her slender figure, casting a shadow over her as his head blocked the sun.

Though her heart was beating through her chest, Cassandra clenched her fists and held her ground. Slowly, she looked up at the man towering over her and met his eyes, trying not to look as intimidated as she felt. 

Quirin leaned in, his once-hollow, defeated gaze now burning with the fierce protectiveness of a father. “If you, Cassandra of Corona, ever harm Varian again,” he said, his voice deathly calm and deadly serious, “I swear upon my honor as a former knight of the Dark Kingdom that I will personally _hunt you down_ , and ensure that you never see the light of either the Sun or the Moon _ever again_ … And once all of this is over?” He paused, his dark eyes boring holes through her soul. “You will stay away from him.”

Cassandra found herself holding her breath as her heart pounded through her skull and blood roared in her ears. It took all of her willpower to keep herself standing still instead of cowering away. Her clenched fists itched to unsheathe her sword and defend herself from the threat looming over her. 

Quirin tilted his head, scrutinizing her face through sharp brown eyes. 

After what felt like an eternity, the man finally backed away and broke eye contact as he turned to mount his horse. 

Once he was settled into the saddle, Quirin kicked his heels and clicked to the mare, urging his steed into a fast gallop as they sped off down the road.

And only when the man was completely out of sight did Cassandra release the breath she’d been holding. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

All of a sudden, without warning of any kind, Eugene found himself hyper-aware of a rapidly growing pressure in his bladder. For a while, he managed to ignore it, focusing on the alchemy he was trying to perform in Varian’s stead; however, as time passed, the pressure only intensified.

“Uh, heh, Varian?” Eugene eventually called the boy over from where he’d been petting Ruddiger. “Is it okay if I leave this for a second?” He gestured toward the various chemicals sitting in front of him. “Nature’s calling and I don’t think I can keep ignoring her for much longer.”

For several increasingly uncomfortable minutes, Varian just stared at him uncomprehendingly with big blue eyes.

Before abruptly bursting into loud chitters of bird-like laughter. The sound reminded Eugene of a cawing crow, only more warbly and with a few trilling chirps scattered here and there.

The captain gave an awkward chuckle, but quickly cut himself off when the pressure doubled at the movement. “Um, Varian?”

The boy only laughed harder at his plea, and while Eugene was glad to see Varian laughing at all, given his situation, he really. Had. To _pee_.

“Yes,” the alchemist finally gasped between bouts of laughter. “You can go.”

“Oh, thank the Sun!” Eugene squeaked as he waddled out of the lab, trying not to wet himself.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Once Cassandra’s racing heart finally decided she wasn’t going to be murdered by an angry dad—though technically a justified one—, she made her way back to the house. 

As she walked, her mind roared with turmoil and conflict. 

She didn’t know how to feel about Quirin’s… Promise? Warning? Threat?

It made her stomach tie itself into knots. 

Cassandra had no doubt Quirin was the type of man who made good on his threats, and while she had _zero_ intentions of harming Varian— _again,_ her mind whispered maliciously—, should she try and approach him after everything was over, she knew she would face the consequences.

But what should she do? 

Cassandra froze inside the threshold of the house as her thoughts ground to a halt and that single, terrifying question echoed through her mind like a death knell.

What was she going to do after everything was over?

Where was she going to go?

Where _could_ she go?

She’d betrayed her kingdom, committed multiple acts of high treason, kidnapped a minor, threatened the life of the princess on numerous occasions, and consorted with what was by definition, a terrorist.

Even if Rapunzel pardoned her as she’d insisted she would during their talk in the kitchens, Cassandra knew that her crimes were too significant. If she was given a pass, then people would begin to think they could get away with breaking the law too, and other kingdoms would believe Corona was weak and Rapunzel was naive and foolish. 

Besides, regardless of the political problems it would cause, Cassandra would never be fully accepted back into society anyway.

So where could she go?

When no answer came to her, another question flickered to life after being pushed aside for the last few days.

Her destiny.

What was her destiny?

Cassandra knew now that she wouldn’t find it in the Moonstone. Her destiny wasn’t to kill Rapunzel. It wasn’t to reclaim what she’d stupidly believed had been taken from her. No, all of that was only Zhan Tiri’s manipulations.

So if that wasn’t her destiny, what was?

However, before she could pursue the issue further, Eugene suddenly burst out of Varian’s lab, holding his bladder like his life depended on it. 

Bewildered, Cassandra leapt out of his way and pressed herself against the wall. 

Not even sparing her a glance, the man rushed past, chanting under his breath, “Gottapeegottapeegottapee!”

Once Eugene had turned the corner and left her line of sight, Cassandra shook herself, thrown off by his abrupt appearance and subsequent departure.

She turned to continue down the hall, but before she even got the chance to take a step, a startled trill echoed from Varian’s lab followed by a thump and the sound of shattering glass.

Without a thought, Cassandra darted across the hall and burst into the room. “Varian?” she called, her voice pitching with worry as she scanned the lab, fearing the worst.

A frightened warble answered her and she hastened past the wooden desk in front of her only to find an empty, broken beaker lying on the ground. 

“Varian?” she repeated.

Suddenly, Ruddiger appeared out of nowhere, charging toward her, and Cassandra braced herself to fend off an angry raccoon. 

However, to her surprise and relief, the rodent stopped at her feet and began pulling insistently at her leg with his small paws.

“What is it? Where’s Varan?” she asked, her worry tripling as she imagined what could’ve happened to a small bird in a lab filled to bursting with dangerous chemicals and volatile machines. 

Ruddiger chattered impatiently, tugging harder on her leg before giving up and racing back across the lab.

Cassandra quickly followed the raccoon only to find him staring into a dark corner and chittering softly, almost as if he was trying to comfort something.

She squinted into the shadows and took a step closer, attempting to see what he was looking at. 

At the movement, though, Ruddiger whipped his head around to hiss at her, and she stumbled back, startled by his hostility when, moments before, he’d been the one to bring her over. 

The raccoon glared at her suspiciously for a moment before turning back to the corner and crooning again. 

Beginning to think the rodent had gotten into some chemicals and was hallucinating, Cassandra started moving away only to freeze when she heard a soft, hesitant whistle from the dark corner. 

In response, Ruddiger chattered encouragingly, and Cassandra crouched down to search the shadows again.

Suddenly, a small movement caught her eyes, and she zeroed in on it. After a moment, Cassandra sighed in relief as she finally managed to trace the faint outline of a bird cowering in the corner; however, her relief didn’t last long and her breath caught in her throat.

Oh, Varian. 

Thinking quickly, Cassandra swallowed her panic and got to her knees, trying to make herself appear smaller and less threatening to the frightened bird. 

Ruddiger glanced at her but seemed to decide her presence was okay and faced the corner again, chirring softly as he tried to coax the Steller’s jay out of the shadows.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

The large rodent purred.

The fleshy creature with strange black scales and blue fur crouched down next to it. 

He was cornered. 

They watched. 

They waited.

He watched.

He waited.

… 

Nothing happened.

They watched.

They waited.

He watched.

He waited— 

For what?

What was he waiting for?

...What were _they_ waiting for?

Were they waiting for him?

They… 

They seemed… familiar… 

The words rang true within him.

Wait, “words”?

What were… “words”?

…Didn’t words mean things?

Did the rodent have words? And the spiky, scaly creature?

Words that they were… called?

And those words that they were called… started with an “N”?

What was an “N”? 

What did “N” mean?

…Names… 

Names?

The words that they were called were “names”?

What were their names?

…Did _he_ have a name?

What was it?

 _”Varian!”_

He chirped in fright at the strange noise that echoed through his mind. 

He wondered what it meant.

It sounded… right.

It sounded like him.

Perhaps that was his “name”?

Was “Varian” his word?

It felt like it was.

 _“Varian!”_

The large rodent chattered again. 

The black spiky creature shifted in front of him and he flinched. 

The creature froze before slowly opening its mouth.

“Varian?”

It was that noise again.

It must be his name if that was what they called him.

“Varian, c’mon… You’re stronger than this. Come back.”

Back?

Back to where?

Where did he have to go back to?

He was here… Wherever “here” was.

...Home… 

Home?

 _“Can I go home now?”_

He chattered in agitation. What was with these strange noises?

 _“Can I_ please _go home?”_

Why were they in his head?

_“Varian?”_

He shook himself roughly, clicking in annoyance. Get out! Get out of his head!

_“Dad!”_

No! Go away!

_“Oh, Varian.”_

He stumbled back, pressing himself into the corner as far as he could. Maybe if he hid well enough, the noises would stop. He jammed his body as far into the darkness as he could.

Suddenly, agony lanced through his wing, electrocuting his bones and scorching his veins. He let out a pained screech. Why did it hurt? Why was he hurt? What happened to make it hurt?

_Black rocks. . . Cold, unforgiving. . . Slamming into him. . . Throwing him onto his hand. . . Snapping his fingers in tiny explosions of agony. . ._

No! Stop it! A shrill cry of fear and pain built up in his throat before bursting out of him and making the two creatures in front of him recoil. 

_Rocks. . . Holding him down. . . Crushing him. . . Squeezing him. . . Breaking him. . ._

Go away! Get out! Leave him alone!

_“Varian, I’m so sorry. . .”_

Stop it! Just go away! Please!

_“Varian, what’s wrong?”_

_“Varian? How’s your shoulder? And your fingers?”_

_“Varian! When were you going to tell me you’d made a friend?”_

Leave him alone! Please, no more! Just make it stop… 

_“Varian, buddy, what happened?”_

_“Varian, it’s okay!”_

_“Varian’s still missing.”_

_“Varian! Stop— Calm down!”_

Go away… Please… 

_“Varian? Hey, wake up.”_

_“Varian, I’m sorry.”_

_“Varian never made promises.”_

_“Varian, what happened?”_

_“Varian, it’s all right.”_

_“Varian?”_

_“Varian!”_

_“Varian.”_

“Varian?”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Varian?” Cassandra tried again, despair soaking her voice as the bird in the shadows trembled and shook, crying out in fear and pain. 

Last time, Varian said it just felt like he’d been dreaming. He knew what was going on and who everyone was, but he couldn’t find the names to match with the faces and objects. He told them his thoughts had no words, instead, they were like memories being pulled up from his subconscious. He’d described his mind as being blissfully blank, yet also bursting with sensations and feelings that had no words to define them.

Varian said the experience wasn’t painful or frightening, just confusing, and that coming back to himself had simply been like waking up from a very strange dream that he’d already half-forgotten.

This appeared to be much worse. So much worse.

“Cass- Cassandra?”

The wave of relief that slammed into her was so sudden and forceful that she slumped to the ground, pressing her forehead against the cool, stone floor and letting out a heavy breath. She wasn’t quite sure whether she wanted to laugh with joy or sob over the implications of the incident.

Ruddiger chittered happily at his boy’s return and Cassandra heard him rush forward to nuzzle Varian. 

Looking up, she saw Varian had hopped out of the corner and was now petting Ruddiger’s head soothingly. His uninjured wing was shaking as he brushed it through the raccoon’s fur, and his broken wing was pulled tightly against his body instead of being held half-out as he normally had it. 

Slowly, he turned his head to look over at Cassandra. His light blue eyes, while not dull and blank anymore, were haunted and full of anguish.

“I’m running out of time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I skipped over Cass and Rapunzel's reconciliation. It just wasn't important to this story and I needed to get it out of the way. :/
> 
> Y’all remember how Varian was talking about steel being a thermal conductor in Cassandra’s Revenge? So apparently steel isn’t actually a good thermal conductor, in fact, (according to some random website on google) it's one of the poorest thermal conductors there is. Idk how I'm supposed to feel about that, Varian.
> 
> Additionally, I have no idea if any of the chemicals mentioned in this chapter have even been discovered yet in this time period, but whatever. I also have no idea if any of it was even remotely accurate. I did some research, but I'm no chemist (or alchemist ;)), so I have absolutely zero clue if any of that was correct. 
> 
> In regards to the end of the chapter:  
> As far as I know, animals don't actually have "thoughts", per se. As in, they don’t think in words, rather, they "think" in pictures/memories. That being said, I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out how to do Varian's POV. In the end, I decided to do very simple sentences b/c it would be like he was "getting his words back" and would therefore be able to more or less "think" in words.   
> Please let me know what you thought of it, so I can adjust how his "bird" perspective is written to make reading it more enjoyable.
> 
> I would also greatly appreciate it if you could notify me of any and all grammatical errors or typos you may find.
> 
> (And I know this is a little late but) To all those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas!


	17. Losing Your Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It was as if Zhan Tiri was witnessing the stones’ fall from the heavens, and she followed their descent greedily, watching as they drew closer to her grasp than they’d ever been."  
> . . . .  
> "Varian tried desperately to think through the fear and pain clouding his mind but found his thoughts rapidly fleeing from his grasp as his bird side began to take over.  
> And he had a feeling that this time it was for good…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sings painfully off-key*  
> ONwArD wE RiDE!!!

By the time the group was about a kilometer away from the black rock tower, the sun was nearly at its peak in the sky. The once beautiful, reassuring golden light now seemed to glower down at them, its fiery glare ominous and foreboding. The darkened moon hung beside it, still and silent, it’s cold stare amused as if it found their struggles entertaining. 

Together, the two spheres, so different yet so alike, the halves to each other’s whole, were akin to a pair of mismatched eyes. The sight made Varian think of some enormous, otherworldly entity observing them from afar, pitiless and unaffected by their troubles.

The sky itself was a heavy, burning black that seemed to smother the earth like a thick, oppressive blanket of greasy smoke. The darkness felt unnatural and uneasy as though it knew it didn’t belong and was waiting for a beam of light to pierce through it and break the illusion. 

Now thoroughly unsettled, Varian shifted on Cassandra’s shoulder and pulled his gaze away from the sky to observe the assembled group. 

Rapunzel looked solemn as she slid off of Maximus’s back with Pascal on her shoulder. The princess’s face was slightly pale from the effects of the eclipse on the Sundrop, but her gaze held a challenging glint as if daring anyone to comment on it. Next to Rapunzel, still seated in the guard-horse’s saddle, Eugene’s appeared cheery as ever; however, Varian could still make out the worry shining in his eyes. Cassandra had already dismounted from Fidella and was standing to the side with her arms crossed while Ruddiger clambered around Fidella’s back, scanning each tree with the utmost suspicion and raising his hackles at every unexpected noise.

The raccoon’s jumpiness reminded Varian of his… “episode” earlier in the lab, something he’d been trying to avoid thinking about. After he’d recovered, he and Cassandra had agreed not to tell the others, deciding it would only distract them from the plan and cause problems. 

Varian glanced at the woman. Ever since they’d headed out of Old Corona, she’d seemed distant. And while he understood that seeing him slowly lose his mind probably wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially when one held themself responsible, this felt like it was something else. 

Cassandra was acting more… anxious and withdrawn. Like she was lost in deep thought. 

He wondered absently if it was her future she was worried about. 

Varian had already given some thought to what would happen after everything was resolved—assuming it all worked out—and, suffice to say, he had no idea what Cassandra would—or even could—do. 

He was fairly certain she didn’t want to wage war on Rapunzel and Corona anymore, but that didn’t erase what she’d already done. It wasn’t like she could just rejoin society; he’d had enough trouble with that and his list of crimes, while just as severe, was arguably less extensive than hers. Additionally, he’d spent a year in the dungeons paying for his crimes, whereas he was certain Rapunzel would never let her best friend go to prison—Varian pushed down the bitter twinge in his gut at the thought. 

Anyway, Varian also had a strong suspicion that his apparently “young, harmless age” and so-called “innocent, childlike appearance” had greatly eased his reintegration into society.

Which—while he wasn’t really complaining—he thought was completely ludicrous; people shouldn’t be judged by their appearance.

And he did _not_ look like a child.

Regardless, Varian had a few extenuating circumstances that helped him out. Cassandra did not.

Suddenly, Ruddiger jumped and hissed at a squirrel running through the undergrowth, effectively pulling Varian from his thoughts. 

Sighing, he resolved to revisit the issue another time and turned to the captain. “All right Eugene, remember,” he said seriously, “we don’t know how everything’s gonna unfold and we don’t know how much… how much time I have left, so you, Max, Fidella, and Ruddiger need to get the fire going as soon as possible so we can start making the tea the moment we get back.” He paused for a second before asking, “You’ve got the water and the tea bags, right?”

“Yes,” Eugene answered automatically before patting his pockets. His face paled. “No.”

However, before Varian could panic and blow up at the man, Max nickered and craned his neck around to reach into his saddlebag. A second later, the horse’s snout came back out with a couple teabags held delicately between his teeth, and Varian let out a sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Max,” he said. “Are the waterskins in there too?”

The guard-horse whinnied in confirmation and put the tea bags back. 

“Pascal,” Varian heard Rapunzel say behind him. He glanced over to see the princess talking to the chameleon now cupped in her hands. “You should probably stay with Eugene, buddy.”

The little lizard crossed his arms obstinately and stuck his tongue out at Rapunzel, though his expression was hurt. 

“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” she protested. “I just don’t want you getting hurt. You’ll be safer with Eugene.”

Pascal’s stance didn’t waver.

“Please? For me?”

That seemed to do the trick, and the chameleon’s stubbornness broke down. He gave a little sigh and a reluctant nod, his scales dulling somberly. 

Rapunzel beamed as she reached up to set him on Eugene’s shoulder. “Thank you! I promise I’ll make it up to you when all of this is over.”

Varian winced. The princess tossed around those words too flippantly; if things went south, that might not be a promise she could keep.

“Hey, Varian?” Rapunzel suddenly said, turning back to him. “Should we, ya know…” She trailed off, gesturing to her and Cassandra’s chests where the Sundrop and Moonstone resided respectively. 

Varian’s gaze flickered up to the sky again before looking back at the princess. “Yeah, probably.” 

At his confirmation, Rapunzel and Cassandra shared a look before Cassandra crouched down, putting out her arm, so Varian could hop off onto a half-rotted tree stump next to her.

He bit back a wince when he landed on the soft wood, his ankle stinging slightly as the fresh strip of bandages tied around it rasped against the sensitive area. 

“Well, here goes,” Rapunzel murmured as Cassandra straightened.

At the same time, both women brought their hands up, grasped the stones, and slowly, as if there was some sort of resistance, pulled them from their chests. 

A single, dazzling flash of white, ethereal energy accompanied by a sharp crackle from the Moonstone and a loud hum from the Sundrop lit up the surrounding trees, and Varian was forced to shield his eyes from the bright glare.

But as quickly as it came, the light disappeared, and once he was able to blink the spots from his eyes, Varian looked over to see Cassandra’s dark sword clatter to the ground without its scabbard as the rest of her black rock armor disappeared, leaving the woman in only the skintight, grey outfit she wore underneath.

However, Cassandra didn’t seem to notice the change and instead, slowly looked up from the Moonstone in her hand to gaze at her surroundings with uncharacteristic childlike wonder. Short, black hair framed her face in thick curls, and her skin was once again flushed with life and color rather than its previously pallid tone. She took a deep breath as if for the first time and held it in, turning her face up to the sky and closing her eyes. 

After a long moment, she released the breath in a slow exhale and all of the tension bled from her figure. Looking back down, she met Varian’s gaze with hazel eyes and gave him a small, hesitant, but genuine smile, and the simple act, so light and easy and _free_ , brought a grin to his own face. 

Cassandra’s smile widened and she turned to check on Rapunzel, who looked mildly uncomfortable as she examined the long braid of lifeless, brown hair sprouting from her head. 

“You okay, Blon— Er, Brownie?” Eugene asked as he swung his leg over the saddle and slid off Max’s back. 

“Yeah,” Rapunzel replied distractedly as she pulled the braid over her shoulder to inspect her hair with one hand still clutching the Sundrop. “It’s just… It feels… heavier somehow… Like it’s _dead_ or something.” 

Eugene paused for a moment, appearing vaguely disturbed, before quickly fixing his expression. “Well, that’s, um…” He coughed. “That’s mildly concerning, but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” the captain assured her as he walked over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

“I imagine that when your hair was under the influence of the Sundrop,” Varian added, “it probably felt lighter because of all the, uh, the magic.” He grimaced at the word but didn’t want to waste time arguing over a scientific explanation. 

“Huh… weird,” Rapunzel murmured, still studying her hair. “I guess I just never noticed it when my hair was short… ”

“So do we just put these in our bags?” Cassandra interjected. Her previously peaceful expression now looked faintly troubled by the idea of putting an all-powerful celestial stone in her satchel like it was nothing more than a pretty rock. 

Varian nodded in confirmation. “Wrap it up in those scratchy rags I gave you, so you don’t mix it up by accident,” he told them. 

“Right…” Cassandra muttered as she pulled a coarse cloth from her satchel and bundled up the Moonstone before reluctantly tucking it into her bag. 

Next to her, Rapunzel did the same, reverently swaddling the Sundrop in rough fabric before gently placing it in her own satchel.

Varian glanced around the forest before looking up at the sky again and noting anxiously that the sun and moon were now touching. 

He took a steadying breath before returning his gaze to the people watching him expectantly, waiting for his call. 

“Everyone ready?” he asked, fighting to keep his voice from cracking.

Eugene looked around at the group before focusing back on Varian. “I think we’re all as ready as we’ll ever be, kid. It’s now or never.” 

A solemn silence followed his words before Cassandra broke it as she turned to Rapunzel and said, “And Raps? Let me do the talking.”

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

As noon drew closer, Zhan Tiri began to have doubts.

Perhaps she’d overestimated the lengths Cassandra would be willing to go for the boy.

The demon sighed. It would be a setback, but nothing she couldn’t adapt to. 

Zhan Tiri prided herself on her patience—after all, she’d been imprisoned for centuries in the Lost Realm before finally escaping—, but now that the platter had been set before her, she didn’t want to wait any longer to eat. 

She glanced at the moon, just beginning to eat away at the sun, and creased her brow contemplatively.

“Zhan Tiri!”

Ah, so Cassandra came through after all. 

Taking a moment to observe the group, Zhan Tiri noticed that both women appeared to have already severed their links with the stones. Cassandra stalked around, one hand grasping her sword while the other gripped the strap of her satchel. Rapunzel walked closely behind her, casting wary glances at the numerous spikes of black rock littered around the area. Varian fidgeted on Cassandra’s shoulder, head turning this way and that as he searched presumably for her. 

Cassandra started to yell again. “Zhan—”

“Hello, Cassandra,” Zhan Tiri greeted, stepping out of the shadows cast by the black rock tower. “How are you?” 

Caught off guard, Varian started, and Rapunzel’s brown braid swung through the air as she whipped around with wide eyes.

However, in sharp contrast to her companions, Cassandra hid her surprise well and slowly turned to face her. When hazel eyes found Zhan Tiri’s shadowed form, her lip curled. “Cut the small talk,” she growled. “Where’s the Teapot?”

“Feeling a bit brusque today, are we?” The demon grinned. “In a hurry?”

Her smile stretched wider as Cassandra visibly swallowed a snarl. 

“Where’s the Teapot?” the woman repeated forcefully.

“Oh, have I touched a nerve?” Zhan Tiri wondered with a smirk, ignoring the question. “Maybe ruffled a few feathers?” 

Both Rapunzel and Varian winced at her pun, and Cassandra’s eye twitched, her jaw tightening. 

“Where. Is. The Teapot?” 

Zhan Tiri’s expression dropped into a pout before a shark-like grin sliced across her face. “And the stones?” she shot back.

Cassandra’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Show us the Teapot first.”

Deciding to humor them, the demon heaved a dramatic sigh and muttered a short spell. Reaching back into the shadows with one hand, she grasped around blindly for a moment before finding the handle and pulling out the Avian Teapot.

Rapunzel let out a gasp. “I thought we destroyed that!”

Cassandra cast the princess an incredulous glance. “What? You thought there were two teapots hanging around turning people into birds?”

“Well- Yes, but- I mean, we shattered that one,” Rapunzel replied defensively.

Cassandra sighed in exasperation before turning back to Zhan Tiri. “How do we know that’s not a fake?”

Zhan Tiri laughed. “Well, I suppose this should answer both of your questions at once,” she told them before bashing the Teapot against the side of the black tower with a resounding _crack!_

“What are you doing?” Varian trilled in panic as Rapunzel sucked in a horrified breath and Cassandra lurched forward as if to stop her.

“Oh, stop being so dramatic,” Zhan Tiri admonished, holding out the now heavily fractured Teapot.

Cassandra raised her sword, her face contorting with anger. “I’ll show you dramatic—“

“Hush, Cassandra. Just watch.” Zhan Tiri interrupted, holding up a hand before gesturing to the Teapot.

As if on cue, a bright pink glow lit up along the cracks in the porcelain, and when the light faded away a few seconds later, the Avian Teapot was whole once more, not a single blemish remaining on its ornate surface. 

Zhan Tiri grinned smugly. “The Avian Teapot cannot be destroyed by any human means,” she informed their astonished faces. 

Cassandra narrowed her eyes suspiciously and opened her mouth to say something, but the demon cut her off.

“I’ve held up my end of the bargain. Now it’s your turn,” she said, setting the Teapot on the ground at her feet before holding out her hand expectantly. “The stones.”

Cassandra’s mouth twisted in a snarl, but she gave a stiff nod nonetheless and reached into the satchel slung over her shoulder.

Behind her, Rapunzel pressed her lips together into a grim line before sticking her hand into her own satchel. 

After a moment, Cassandra and Rapunzel retracted their hands from their satchels, both clutching two, silky, white cloths.

Cassandra gave her a steely-eyed glare. “We make the trade at the same time,” she said.

The demon returned her look with a malicious grin. “And how do I know those aren’t fakes?” she parroted. 

Cassandra scowled fiercely, her glove creaking as she tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. Zhan Tiri watched the woman cast Varian a brief glance and he nodded.

Rapunzel stepped up forward so the two women stood side by side. They shared a look with each other before simultaneously opening their fists.

At once, Zhan Tiri was captivated by the swirling golden light of the Sundrop next to the sharp blue of the Moonstone. Clashing waves of warm and cool air emanated from the celestial stones, making the demon shiver with delight at the prospect of wielding such powerful objects.

At last… After all these years… She was so close… 

All but slavering over the stones, Zhan Tiri’s hungry gaze flickered to Cassandra, and the woman hardened, withdrawing her hand and shielding the Moonstone from her sight. 

Following the other’s lead, Rapunzel quickly did the same, closing her fist around the Sundrop and cutting off its golden light.

“At the same time,” Cassandra repeated sternly, with a dark glare. 

Zhan Tiri bit her tongue to keep herself from growling at the woman, and pasted on a broad grin as she forced out a giggle through her clenched teeth. “Why of course!” she exclaimed. “We made a deal after all.” 

After throwing her a lour, Cassandra glanced between the demon’s two outstretched hands, the teapot on the ground, and the two stones in her and Rapunzel’s palms. Her brow furrowed. 

“I’ll kick it to you,” Zhan Tiri told her quickly, trying not to sound impatient. “If it cracks, it’ll just fix itself.”

Cassandra’s eye twitched. “Fine,” she ground out.

Varian gave the demon a dubious look as Cassandra and Rapunzel faced Zhan Tiri.

At the same time, the women slowly lowered the stones toward the demon’s waiting hands. 

It was as if Zhan Tiri was witnessing the stones’ fall from the heavens, and she followed their descent greedily, watching as they drew closer to her grasp than they’d ever been.

The moment the Sundrop and the Moonstone were released from the women’s hands, Zhan Tiri kicked the Avian Teapot, sending it sailing toward Rapunzel.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

The princess snatched the Teapot out of the air before it could make contact with her face and shoved it into her satchel. Without a hint of hesitation, she started sprinting toward the forest with Cassandra, having seen her get the Teapot, running right behind her.

Varian glanced over his shoulder to see Zhan Tiri looking after them before turning to the “stones” in her hands with a confused expression.

Her confusion didn’t last long.

The demon’s overly large mouth twisted, and she let out a wordless shriek of rage; the sound echoed around the clearing, overlapping to create a harsh, discordant symphony of fury. 

She threw the fake stones to the ground where they shattered against the rocks, sending glowing blue and gold chemicals splashing across the dirt.

Varian’s stomach flipped, and he quickly turned back around. “Guys! Now’s the part where we use those smoke bombs!” he yelled, not even trying to rein in his panic.

“Right!” Rapunzel reached into her bag and pulled out a swirling, green sphere which she promptly chucked over her shoulder at the enraged demon. 

Varian’s eyes followed the ball to where it smashed on the ground just a few feet from Zhan Tiri. With a hiss, the thick gas trapped inside was released, and the area was swiftly consumed by green smoke. 

With her eyes rendered useless, Zhan Tiri screamed in frustration; however, the terrifying sound quickly devolved into gasping coughs as she began choking on the gas.

With the demon’s attention temporarily diverted, Varian faced forward once more, keeping his eyes on the rapidly approaching treeline. “Almost there. Almost there,” he murmured.

Or at least, he meant to.

Dread filled his being as he heard only soft chirps coming from his beak. 

“Ohhhh no. No, no, no. Not right now! Cassandra!” he warbled frantically. 

The woman glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, the panic on her face reflecting his own when she heard him trilling and whistling instead of speaking in English. 

He felt Cassandra put on another burst of speed and saw Rapunzel do the same, her braid streaming behind her like a brunette pennant. 

Just before they reached the edge of the forest, Varian heard another shrill shriek from Zhan Tiri, only this time, it was much, much closer and much, much angrier.

Cassandra gasped for air as she tried to push her legs faster, but she didn’t get far before Varian felt a small hand seize his middle, crushing his broken wing against his body as he was forcibly yanked from his perch. 

Blazing sparks of agony shot through his wing, making his broken bones feel as though they were filled with liquid fire, and Varian let out a strangled screech of pain as his vision whited out for a split second.

“Vari—!” Cassandra’s scream of fear was cut off as the darkness enveloped him in their cold embrace.

All at once, the malevolent shadows began clawing hungrily at him from all sides, suffocating him with scalding hands and strangling him with frozen fingers.

He went to scream, but before he could make a sound, the darkness surged into his mouth, forcing his jaw open as it gushed down his throat like boiling oil and coated his insides with bitter frost, burning him alive from the inside out. 

Varian tried desperately to think through the fear and pain clouding his mind but found his thoughts rapidly fleeing from his grasp as his bird side began to take over. 

And he had a feeling that this time it was for good… 

_No!_

No, not right now! He couldn’t give in right now!

He just had to… to. . . to think! 

He had to think! 

He needed to use his brain. 

He was smart, he could. . . .

He could. . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . .Mind. . . . . . .

Mind over matter!

Yes, that was it. He could do this. It was just mind over. . . . . . . 

Over. . . . . . . . .

Over… matter. . . . . . . . . .

A high, chilling laugh rippled through the darkness.

But what happens if you're losing your mind?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😈😈😈
> 
> *Rubs hands together and giggles hysterically* ...We're in the endgame now... *giggles again and chokes on spit*
> 
> I'm good.
> 
> Let me know if you find _any_ grammar/spelling errors and/or typos! It's immensely appreciated!


	18. Of Fear, Fire, & Fingers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Cassandra didn’t know what to do.  
> Varian just... disappeared into the shadows.  
> Caught in the clutches of an insane, power-hungry demon.  
> Left to the mercy of Zhan Tiri as he slowly lost his humanity."  
> . . . .  
> "'Varian!'  
> Varian’s eyes flew open just before his torso was unexpectedly pulled off the ground and crushed in a familiar embrace.   
> 'Dad?' he asked.  
> Wait.  
> Varian went completely still, his eyes widening in shock and tentative hope."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!TRIGGER WARNING!!!  
>  _Graphic_ descriptions of blood & injury. Cassie gets angry. Cassie drops the f-bomb. Cassie thinks a mild cuss word. Cassie sets someone on fire. (Cassie's not having a good time).
> 
> PLEASE mind the trigger warning! This chapter is more violent than my previous ones, so READ WITH CARE!
> 
> On that pleasant note, enjoy!

He was terrified.

Everything was dark.

The darkness hurt.

It burned and choked and froze and bit.

It _hurt_.

A strange, unearthly creature laughed somewhere in the blackness, sending chills down his spine.

Where was he?

What was happening?

Why did everything hurt _so much_?

Abruptly, he became aware of a crushing grip around him.

It _hurt_.

He jerked within the grip, trying to free himself.

Pain exploded through his wing, and he screeched.

But there was no sound.

The creature laughed again.

Why could it make noise when he couldn’t?

The grip tightened, and he silently shrilled again, struggling harder despite the pain. 

The hold loosened for a second, and he lurched forward to clamp his beak down on the first thing he could find. 

The creature yelped and the grip slackened as he bit into its hand.

It hurt less now.

Quickly, he let go and wriggled out of its grasp. 

“You—!” the creature growled in fury.

Immediately, he leapt toward the sound.

The creature made a startled noise as he smacked into what seemed to be its face.

Without a moment to lose, he fell into a panicked, fear-driven frenzy and began clawing and snapping at everything within reach.

The creature screeched in pain and rage, both of its hands flying up to its face to start beating at his scratching, biting, writhing body. 

Distantly, a desperate, garbled call floated through the darkness. “Zhan Tiri! Let him go!” 

The creature only snarled in annoyance but did not cease in its attempts to remove him from its head.

Deciding to ignore the strange sounds as well, he too carried on with his wild assault.  
A shrieking growl tore out the creature’s throat as it started ripping through his feathers and grabbing at his wings, but, still consumed by panic, he barely even noticed the extra pain.

However, that changed when the creature managed to get a grip around his middle again.

Fear flooded through him and, instinctively, he latched his talons onto something on the side of its face.

The darkness was instantly filled with the metallic, cloying scent of blood as his claws dug into shockingly cold skin. Something wet and sticky oozed over his scaly foot and dripped off his toes.

A loud scream erupted from the creature’s mouth, and it redoubled its efforts to pry him off.

Unable to do anything else, he clenched his talons harder. The action was followed by a muted ripping sound as his claws punched holes straight through the cartilage and out the other side. 

The creature shrieked again, its movements becoming ruthless and wild as it tore at his tail feathers and beat at his wings, sending shocks of pain shuddering through his body.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra didn’t know what to do. 

Varian just… disappeared into the shadows. 

Caught in the clutches of an insane, power-hungry demon. 

Left to the mercy of Zhan Tiri as he slowly lost his humanity. 

“Rapunzel, keep going!” she yelled to the other woman, who’d slowed down at the edge of the treeline when she heard Cassandra scream for Varian. 

“But—”

“Just go! Stick to the plan! See if Quirin’s back with Shorty!” Cassandra shouted as she slid sideways to a stop and started running back to the shadow Varian had vanished into. “Start making the tea!”

Feeling more protests coming, Cassandra cut the princess off. “ _Go!_ I’ll get Varian!”

Rapunzel made a frustrated noise, but by the time Cassandra glanced over her shoulder, the princess was sprinting into the trees.

Turning back around, she stopped before the shadows and grabbed a random alchemy ball. “Zhan Tiri!” she yelled, brandishing her sword as she tried not to let her panic bleed into her voice. “Let him go!” 

The demand only echoed pathetically around the silent clearing. 

Cassandra snarled in anger and distress, clenching her hands tighter around her sword and the alchemy ball. 

Horrifying visions of what the demon could be doing to Varian sprang to life within her head, and Cassandra momentarily forgot how to breathe as her lungs constricted with dread and guilt. 

She may have broken her oath— _the same day you made it_ , her mind whispered viciously—, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still trying to make it up to Varian. That didn’t mean—

An idea struck her out of the blue. 

A risky one, but an idea nonetheless.

Fumbling, Cassandra reached into her satchel and let go of the alchemy ball before feeling around. A faint, barely noticeable rush of power coursed through her fingertips as they brushed against the scratchy rag covering the Moonstone—the _real_ one.

Her fingers closed around the rag, thinking that, surely, if she revealed the opal’s presence, Zhan Tiri would come running, and then they could make a trade: Varian for the Moonstone—

An inhuman screech of pain and fury suddenly reverberated through the air, cutting off Cassandra’s train of thought. Chills ran up and down her spine, leaving her skin prickling with goosebumps as the unearthly noise echoed around the clearing.

Letting go of the Moonstone, Cassandra snatched the alchemy ball again before ripping her hand out of her satchel. Her heart pounded violently against her rib cage as she turned in a slow circle, trying to locate the origin of the unsettling sound. 

A brief flicker of movement to her right caught her eye and she whipped toward it, raising her sword and preparing to throw the alchemy ball. 

However, the sight that greeted Cassandra had her arms falling limply to her sides as her jaw dropped in confusion and astonishment. 

From out of the shadows, the great, terrifying, all-powerful Zhan Tiri rolled across the dirt, kicking up dust as she struggled to pull a screeching ball of black and blue feathers off her face. 

The demon shrieked and grunted with effort, alternating between tugging fruitlessly at the small bird’s body and tearing out clumps of black and blue feathers. 

Strangled screeches of pain sounded from the Steller’s jay as the blows rained down on him, but despite the abuse, he still refused to let go. 

Zhan Tiri let out a scream of frustration at the bird’s persistence and switched tactics. Flipping onto her side, the demon began viciously ramming her head against the ground, trying to crush the Steller’s jay between her skull and the hard earth. 

Within a few seconds, a piercing cry of agony tore from the bird’s throat as his already broken wing was brutally smashed against the ground.

The heart-wrenching sound appeared to be what Cassandra needed to snap out of her stupor, and she surged forward with a fierce yell as fury and adrenaline flooded through her veins. 

“You _motherfucker_!” she snarled savagely at Zhan Tiri, swearing to rip that sorry demon a new one using a _damn stick_. 

But even with her rage-fueled adrenaline rush, Cassandra only made it about three feet before Zhan Tiri managed to pry the bird off her face and hurl him away. 

The Steller’s jay let out a short screech of surprise as he sailed through the air for less than a second before smacking into a black spike with a hollow thud and falling limply to the ground.

Panting heavily, Zhan Tiri rolled onto her hands and knees before sitting up and pushing her tangled grey hair out of her eyes, giving Cassandra a clear view of all the damage Varian’s small, but apparently, very sharp talons had done. 

The sight was nauseating, to say the least.

The demon’s skin was practically torn to ribbons, with little strips of flesh hanging from her face as rivulets of blood streamed down her cheeks like tears. Multiple puncture wounds decorated the shredded hunk of flesh that must’ve once been her right ear, and ragged tears revealed the yellow cartilage underneath. Dark blood dripped from the mutilated organ and onto Zhan Tiri’s shoulder where it rolled down her front, staining her dress with streaks and splatters of red. A long, ragged gash adorned the left side of her face from her eyebrow all the way to her chin, and thick, viscous fluids oozed steadily from where the laceration carved straight through her eyeball.

Forcing down the bile that rose in her throat, Cassandra took advantage of the demon’s distracted state and wound her arm back before throwing her alchemy ball as hard as she could at Zhan Tiri, hoping to pin her down so she could put an end to the sadistic demon once and for all. 

The back of her mind whispered something about never striking a downed warrior, but Cassandra pushed the thought aside. Screw honor, she wanted to be done with this.

Zhan Tiri didn’t even have time to comprehend what was flying toward her before the ball struck her face, exploding on impact.

Cassandra’s eyes widened in horror as a stifling wave of heat washed over her skin. 

That hadn’t been a goo ball.

The demon released a blood-curdling howl of agony as she was swiftly engulfed in bright green flames. She shot to her feet, stumbling around blindly and wailing her suffering to the heavens as she tried desperately to rid herself of the fire slowly eating away at her skin.

Cassandra had only a moment to gawk in morbid fascination before harshly reminding herself what—or rather, who—she was actually there for. and forcing her frozen limbs into action. 

“Varian?” she called as she tore her gaze away from the grisly scene and forced her frozen limbs into action. 

The bird didn’t even twitch when she slid onto her knees beside his lifeless form, and Cassandra had to push down the surge of panic that threatened to consume her just as surely as the flames consuming Zhan Tiri. 

Her hand shook as she moved to check for a pulse, doing her best to avoid the many broken feathers covering his small body as well as the absolute, mangled mess that was left of his wing.

Little spots of blood beaded on the exposed skin where feathers had been viciously torn out and Cassandra winced when her fingers brushed against one such area. 

However, that seemed to be all the bird needed to wake up, and a hoarse chirp wheezed from his parted beak as he dazedly opened one unfocused eye to look up at her.

“Oh thank the Sun,” Cassandra said, her voice soaked with relief. Moving slowly so as not to startle or cause him further pain, she carefully slipped her hand beneath the Steller’s jay and picked him up. 

Despite her efforts to be gentle, the bird still flinched at her touch before letting out another pained chirrup. 

Cassandra looked over at Zhan Tiri, still shrieking within the flames, before making a split-second decision and turning her back on the burning demon.

Without a second glance, she started sprinting into the woods, trying to run as smoothly as possible so as not to jostle the injured bird in her hand. 

“It’s okay, Varian, don’t worry,” she murmured to the Steller’s jay between heavy pants. “I’m gonna get you outta here. And once we reach the rendezvous, we can fix you, okay? We can fix you. You’ll be alright, Varian. You’ll- You’ll be okay.” 

Cassandra continued speaking fragmented reassurances as she ran, telling herself that it was to keep the bird calm—though, in reality, it was more for her own sake than for his.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra gasped for breath as she stumbled into the firelight.

“Cass!” Rapunzel exclaimed, bolting upright and rushing over, her blonde braid swinging at her back as the Sundrop hummed on her chest once more.

Quirin, who’d been pacing by the fire, hurried toward Cassandra, while Eugene and the animals stayed back to give her space.

“Marco!” Shorty slurred as he got to his feet. He swayed from side to side for a moment before promptly falling flat on his back. The dwarf raised a confused finger. “Or are you Polo?” 

Rapunzel ignored him as she put a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. “Cass, are you all right? Did you get Varian?” she asked, her face pinched with worry. 

“Yeah,” Cassandra wheezed, dropping her sword to clutch at the stitch in her side. Wordlessly, she held the small Steller’s jay out in one hand. 

Quirin gasped and immediately reached forward, carefully taking the bird from her grip to cradle him in his large hands. “What happened?” he asked, his eyes shining with concern as he took in his son’s limp, ragged state. 

“Zhan Tiri happened,” Cassandra growled once she managed to catch her breath. “And he’s gone bird-brained.”

Quirn’s eyes widened with despair at the statement, and Rapunzel’s hands flew to her mouth.

But before they—as in Rapunzel—could fall into hysterics, Cassandra quickly continued. “Look, we can still fix him. Remember those other people who’d been stuck as birds for _years_? When we freed them, they were fine. A little confused, but fine. And Varian said before that the transformation seemed to get rid of his minor injuries, so the sooner we do this the better, okay?”

“But what happened with Zhan Tiri?” Rapunzel persisted, not wanting to be caught off guard by the demon.

Cassandra let out an impatient sigh before answering. “Varian put up a good fight,” she said, recalling the demon’s disfigured face. “But Zhan Tiri still did a number on him, and when they came back out of the shadows, she smashed his wing and threw him into some rocks.” At this point, Cassandra paused, deliberating, before deciding to just put it bluntly. “So I set her on fire.”

Rapunzel’s green eyes widened to a comical degree and Eugene’s face went slack with horror while both of their jaws dropped simultaneously. Quirin, however, appeared contemplative, and his brown eyes regarded her with something akin to… Gratitude? Appreciation? It wasn’t respect, not even close, but, regardless, Cassandra would take what she could get. 

Eventually, Varian’s father gave her a guarded look of approval and simply said, “Good.”

Cassandra shifted slightly and gave him a cautious nod of acknowledgment before quickly clearing her throat. “So have you made the tea yet?”

Eugene’s jaw snapped shut, though his expression remained shocked and faintly terrified as he cleared his throat. “Uhm, yeah. Er, we- We already got the eggs and everything,” he said, pointing to where two, small, blue eggs sat on the ground next to the Avian Teapot. “And we figured we should get an extra just in case,” he added to explain the other egg.

“And an extra you shall get!” Shorty exclaimed triumphantly from where he was still laying on the ground. The dwarf clutched a handful of white feathers—Cassandra assumed they must’ve been from himself—and dramatically raised his fists to the sky. There was a single beat of silence before he proceeded to release a loud belch from deep in his gut. 

Once he was finished, he sat up and brought his hands back down to stare at the feathers in confusion. “Huh, I guess it didn’t work.” 

He shoved the feathers in his beard before looking over at the group. “The glowy stuff made me itchy,” he informed them with a smile. “And I haven’t felt more alive in years!”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Quirin ignored the drunk and marched over to the blue eggs, the bird in his palm chattering half-heartedly as he went.

Without preamble, he gently laid the Steller’s jay on the ground, grabbed an egg, and cracked it open over his son’s exhausted form.

Just as with the dwarf, a fine, white powder fluttered out of the fractured shell, drifting down to dust the bird’s black and blue feathers like delicate flakes of snow. 

The Steller’s jay glanced up at him as Quirin backed away to give the transformation more room, and though he knew Varian was still in there, that they were bringing him back, it physically hurt the man to see his son’s eyes so dull and blank.

He stopped and kneeled a few feet away from the bird, and in that instant, as he waited for the powder to take effect, Quirin found himself doing something he hadn’t done in nearly twenty years. 

He prayed to the Moon. 

He prayed that nothing would go wrong. He prayed that his boy wasn’t lost forever. He prayed that he could have his brilliant son back in his arms.

And finally, after a long, tense, harrowing moment, the powder began to glow, each granule lighting up like a star blinking to life on the black and blue blanket of the night sky. 

The bird chirruped in alarm but seemed too tired to struggle, and the group watched with bated breath as the white light consumed his form bit by bit until nothing was left but a glowing silhouette.

And then, slowly, oh-so- _slowly_ , the small, luminous figure began to grow, transforming to match that of a familiar teenage boy.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

The very first thing Varian became aware of as his humanity returned was that he _itched_. 

Like tickling tongues of teasing flame, his entire frame was racked with an intense, burning tingle. And at the same time, his skin prickled and crawled as if thousands upon thousands of ants were scuttling across his body all at once.

The terrible sensation made him want to rake his nails across his body and claw his skin off. It made him want to curl up into a tiny ball and drag himself around on sharp gravel. It made him want to clench his fists and scream himself hoarse until it went away.

But he didn’t move. He didn’t make a sound. He couldn’t. Every tissue and fiber in his entire body felt as though it was locked into place, painfully frozen beneath his tingling, prickling, stinging skin.

And just when the itching became absolutely unbearable— 

It stopped. 

And then he felt something new. 

An odd tugging sensation in his muscles accompanied by a deep ache in his bones.

The tugging, while not particularly pleasant, wasn’t horrible as the itching had been, but the ache was a different story.

It started out mild as if he were merely fatigued—or rather, “bone-tired”—, but then the pressure started increasing, and it began to feel like his bones had turned to clay and were being forcibly molded into shape by rough, uncaring fingers.

It seemed as though centuries passed while the ache continued to intensify, spreading through his whole body, and Varian found himself desperately wanting to cry. The itching had been terrible, yes, but it was surface level, something he could’ve feasibly reached if not for his rigid limbs; whereas, this aching was internal, which somehow made it that much worse. 

But he couldn’t cry. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t utter a single syllable. He was stuck, paralyzed as he did his best to simply wait out the pain.

And, to his immeasurable relief, the waiting actually paid off! After an eternity of suffering in frozen silence, the tugging and aching finally faded, and Varian was able to relax, going completely limp on the ground with a thankful sigh.

“Varian!” 

Varian’s eyes flew open just before his torso was suddenly pulled off the ground and crushed into a familiar embrace. A near-threadbare fur vest tickled his nose as he inhaled the rich scent of firewood and apples. 

“D- Dad?” Varian asked, before going utterly still as his eyes widened in shock and tentative hope.

His voice. 

His voice sounded… _normal_. 

No warbling or chattering or faint melodious lilt.

Then Varian noticed something else.

He was bigger.

He fit in his father’s arms again rather than only the palm of his hand.

“Oh, son,” was all Quirin said as he buried his face in the crook of Varian’s neck, his voice thick with emotion.

A lump formed in Varian’s throat and he found himself choking back tears of pure joy. He let out a short laugh and lifted his arms—he had arms again!—to return the hug. 

However, the second his left hand brushed against his dad’s vest, lightning bolts of sizzling hot agony shot through his fingers, and the moment between father and son was shattered like glass and smashed to oblivion. 

Overwhelmed by the unexpected waves of agony suddenly radiating from his hand, Varian yelled in pain and jerked away from his father.

“Varian, what’s wrong?” Quirin exclaimed, but his voice faded into the background as Varian’s gaze locked onto his left hand. 

To say it was gruesome would be a _gross_ understatement; the entire appendage was almost completely unrecognizable.

Hot and swollen, his hand pulsed painfully in time with his heartbeat, and where the skin wasn’t bright red with inflammation, it boasted an impressive array of purple, black, and blue bruising. The jagged edges of splintered bones were visible in two places on the back of his hand, making it appear as though there were rocks beneath his skin. 

All of his stiff, throbbing fingers were bent and broken at multiple points, each joint and abnormal crook twisted at a sickening angle. It would be almost identical to the original injury if not for the fact that, this time, his entire hand was disfigured and not just his fingers. 

The one thing that stuck out to him, though, was the lack of the crooked “C” in his pinky. Now, his smallest finger was just smashed into a slanting zigzag that matched the rest of his mangled extremities.

The morbid urge to count all the unnatural angles rose in Varian’s mind, and he gagged, feeling nauseous and lightheaded. 

Distantly, he heard himself mumble, “Zhan Tiri really needs to stop hitting me there.”

“Oh, but the crunch of bone is so _satisfying_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this chapter was going to close right before Varian's POV at the end, but then I was just like "Ya know, what? I'll let them have this, I know how frustrating it can be to always have to wait on cliffhangers".   
> Yeah, sorry, guys, I honestly didn't mean to leave you all on another cliffhanger, but that's just where the chapter ended. XD
> 
> Also, FYI, the next update might be a little while b/c my plan is to write the rest of this story and then post each chapter as I go back and edit them. The reason I'm doing it like this is b/c, after this chapter, everything else is like back-to-back-to-back-to-back, so I need to make sure it all makes sense and lines up correctly before I can post.  
> But, the good news is, once I have that done, then I can do really quick updates and you won't be left on as many cliffhangers (tho I still have one saved up that is going to absolutely break your hearts and crush your souls :D).
> 
> As always, feedback is highly appreciated!


	19. The Lost Realm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “'The Lost Realm showed me many things,' Zhan Tiri said. 'It opened up windows to other timelines, other dimensions, through which I could witness the goings-on of the outside world. And I must say, it was _very_ useful.’ Varian could hear the wicked grin splitting her face. ‘That was how I learned about Cassandra, after all.'"  
> . . . .  
> "Suddenly, Rapunzel yelled in surprise, and there was a short burst of white light accompanied by a loud thrumming. They all whipped around just in time to see Zhan Tiri’s broad, triumphant grin disappearing into the shadows."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!!!  
> Very graphic descriptions of injuries in general, fire-related injuries, and eyeball-related injuries.
> 
> Please, heed the warning!
> 
> I actually still have one more chapter to write before this story is officially finished, but I felt like I pretty much had all the logistics figured out at this point, and I wanted to start updating again. (Basically, it’s 11 o’clock at night and I was just too excited :D)
> 
> (FYI, b/c I just realized that I hadn't clarified this before, the Moonstone did not crack in this story as it did in the show.)
> 
> Also, if you haven’t already seen it, I got fanart!!! I’m going to thank Vanitatum again because, honestly, it is just absolutely awesome!!! It’s of Varian as a Steller’s jay, so I’ve put it back at the end of chapter 5 when he first gets turned into a bird. Go check it out!

It was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Varian, shocking him back to reality. His heart beat wildly in his chest as he looked up and took in his surroundings for the first time.

A dying fire crackled weakly nearby, casting a dull orange tint upon the trees and undergrowth. Just behind Varian, a small, unassuming, blue egg rested in the dirt beside what he could only assume was the Avian Teapot. 

Eugene stood a few feet away with his knees bent, feet spread apart, and hands gripping his sword as he scanned the trees. Rapunzel squinted into the darkness nearby, one hand grasping a thick lock of golden hair like a whip and the other brandishing her frying pan. 

On the opposite side of the fire, Cassandra had crouched down to pick up her sword—which must have been dropped at some point—and was slowly straightening up as she scowled into the shadows. Her free hand slipped into her satchel where Varian knew the Moonstone waited wrapped in rags.

At the edge of the firelight, Maximus and Fidella both stood stock-still, though their ears twitched and swiveled, listening for the speaker. Ruddiger scrambled around Fidella’s back, hissing at the trees and casting frequent worried glances at Varian. Pascal, on the other hand, was in the process of changing his scales to match Maximus’s saddle, so he could hide.

Quirin kneeled on the ground next to Varian, his sword drawn as he faced the woods with a steely glare. 

Varian shifted to look around his father’s broad frame but immediately stopped when the movement jostled his hand, sending hot waves of pain coursing through it.

Having seen his grimace, Quirin gave him a firm, but no less worried look that clearly said, “Stay put”. To emphasize his unspoken command, he held an arm in front of Varian’s chest as if to both keep him there and—quite futilely—shield him from the darkness that was already everywhere. 

Wait, why was it so dark? Surely the transformation hadn’t taken all day!

Confused, Varian glanced up at the sky through a hole in the forest canopy, and his jaw dropped open with a sharp intake of breath. 

Oh. Right. That would explain it.

The once bright, blazing sun was now completely covered by the moon, condemning the world to an early night and leaving only a brilliant halo of fiery light in the otherwise pitch-black sky. The dazzling, orange ring flared outward in several places along its rim as if the dark moon was smashing the sun into the inky canvas of the sky like one might smash a berry between their fingers. 

Despite the situation and the throbbing agony in his hand, Varian found himself desperately wanting to analyze the total solar eclipse, knowing that it was likely the only chance he would get to witness such an awe-inspiring event.

However, he knew it was an impossible notion, an idle fantasy that would never come to fruition. There were much more important things that required his attention. 

For instance, the presence of a psychotic, vengeful demon hellbent on the complete annihilation of everyone and everything in the kingdom.

“Zhan Tiri!” Cassandra growled. Her eye twitched as she glared into the shadows with a fierce look of utter loathing. “How are you still alive? I set you on _fire_!”

Varian felt a flicker of shock course through him at her words. She set her on fire? When? How— Wait. Oh, she must’ve confused the goo bombs for the fireballs. An understandable mistake.

The demon chuckled wryly. “You know, everyone keeps asking that, and, frankly, I find it quite offensive.” Her disembodied voice echoed eerily around the dark woods; the madness she’d once hidden so well now rang through her words as clearly as the sharp agony pulsing through Varian’s hand. 

But Zhan Tiri wasn’t done. “I mean, the Lost Realm is a strange place, who’s to say it doesn’t do strange things to its inhabitants as well? The notion of longevity isn’t _that_ far-fetched.” She laughed as if sharing an inside joke, her insanity becoming more pronounced with each shrieking giggle. The horrible, grating noise sent chills down Varian’s spine and he found himself wishing for his maroon vest; his white button-down felt about as protective as a twenty-year-old, moth-eaten tablecloth. Sadly, though, he believed it was safe to say his vest had been discarded after Zhan Tiri turned him into a bird and he no longer fit the makeshift sling.

The others shifted uneasily around the fire, their eyes darting every which way as they attempted to locate the demon. 

“You know,” Zhan Tiri continued, “the Lost Realm showed me many things. It opened up windows to other timelines, other dimensions, through which I could witness the goings-on of the outside world. And I must say, it was _very_ useful.” Varian could hear the wicked grin splitting her face. “That was how I learned about our dear Cassandra, after all,” she said.

At the demon’s words, Cassandra’s scowl deepened, intensifying the shadows painted across her face and making the woman look downright nightmarish with the weak firelight also flickering over her features.

Zhan Tiri laughed lightly as if recalling a pleasant memory. “But I didn’t just see the present, I was also able to witness the past… and the _future_. And you, my dear Cassandra, had quite a few _very_ interesting possibilities! In one of your more likely futures,” the demon said, her voice lowering as if she were sharing gossip, “Varian killed your adoptive father on his way to kidnap the queen, and, consumed by anger, you struck the final blow on our dear little alchemist at the Battle for Old Corona.” Her wistful sigh drifted through the trees. “That one was one of my favorites! So much pain and suffering, it was delightful!”

Shocked that there’d been the possibility of him becoming an actual murderer, Varian’s mouth popped open in horror, and he threw Cassandra a stricken look. The woman didn’t even spare him a glance, keeping her eyes trained on the woods, her stony expression betraying none of her thoughts.

Beside him, all the blood had drained from his father’s face, leaving him as pale as a ghost, though his protective stance never faltered. Across the fire, Rapunzel and Eugene looked vaguely nauseous, but, like Quirin and Cassandra, they remained focused.

“Oh!” Zhan Tiri exclaimed suddenly with a giggle, dismissing their distress. “And in another future, you and the alchemist got _married_!” At this, the demon broke out into wild, manic laughter, her high-pitched guffaws echoing through the trees and filling the forest with the sounds of her insanity. “Oh, the two of you were so hilariously _variable_!”

Struck speechless once again—though for _vastly_ different reasons—, Varian averted his eyes, his face burning with mortification as he avoided looking at anyone, namely Cassandra.

Abruptly, Zhan Tiri’s laughter cut off, and she hummed thoughtfully as though she hadn’t just been shrieking her head off seconds before. “Now that I think about it, though, you were both closer in age in that future, so perhaps that was from an alternate reality.” 

The demon trailed off for a moment before picking up again. “Anyways,” she said, “I didn’t care too much for your future, Cassandra, only your past was of consequence. You see, the room where you met me in the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow was originally going to show your birth father. That, my dear, was to be the catalyst for your real destiny. But I couldn’t allow that, so I made it show your past instead.” 

A flash of surprise and bewilderment flitted across Cassandra’s face before she quickly covered it back up with a blank mask. “What does my birth father have to do with anything?” the woman asked warily, her words as sharp as the dark blade she wielded; however, there was a faint thread of confusion running through them. 

Zhan Tiri laughed. “Well, Cassandra, without my intervention, you would have left Rapunzel before she reached the Moonstone and gone on to fulfill your destiny: to free the small kingdom of Monnix from your father’s tyranny.”

There was a beat of silence before Eugene suddenly spoke up, startling Varian as he had almost forgotten about the man. “Wait so, Dragon Lady here is a princess?” the captain asked. “Oh, that’s just pricele—”

Cassandra cut him off with a snarl. “Can it, Fitzherbert. Now’s not the time.”

“Oh, it’s quite all right, Cassandra,” Zhan Tiri said. “I believe I’ve finished my monologue.” 

Before Varian could even finish processing the demon’s words, Rapunzel suddenly yelled in surprise, and there was a short burst of white light accompanied by a loud thrumming. They all whipped around to see Zhan Tiri’s broad, triumphant grin disappearing into the shadows as Rapunzel’s long hair returned to its natural brunette color. 

“Sunshine!” Eugene exclaimed, rushing to his fiancé’s side. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Eugene,” she said, though her green eyes were wide with dismay. “She just appeared out of nowhere, and I didn’t have any time to react, and she… she took the Sundrop.”

A heavy silence followed her statement, and Varian felt the ground fall out from beneath him.

“It’s… It’s all right, Blondie,” Eugene said, though his anxious expression gave away his inner distress. “It wasn’t your fault.” 

Rapunzel went to protest, but, suddenly, her eyes widened in alarm, and she pointed somewhere behind Cassandra instead. “Cass, look out!”

Varian snapped his head around and managed to catch a brief glimpse of Zhan Tiri vanishing into the shadows once more, a frustrated snarl replacing her smile. 

Cassandra turned to face the shadows with her sword raised and one hand still in her satchel. 

Eugene and Rapunzel hastened to defend her back, and Varian went to stand as well, but before he could even get his feet under him, Quirin sent him a look. 

“Varian,” he started, however, he didn’t get far before Cassandra let out a shout of anger, and Varian saw her slash her sword at the shadows, her other hand coming out of the satchel so she could properly balance the swing. The ball of rags clutched in her fist pulsed with a faint blue light as she held her arm out to maintain her equilibrium.

And that was all Zhan Tiri needed.

Without warning, the demon leapt out of the shadows, her disturbingly childlike body latching onto Cassandra’s face before scuttling across her torso like some ungodly spider to begin clawing at the woman’s fingers. 

Cassandra yelped in alarm, stumbling as Zhan Tiri’s sudden weight pulled her off balance. 

At Cassandra’s unspoken plea for assistance, Eugene and Rapunzel shook off their shock and jumped into action, tugging and pulling at the demon in an attempt to dislodge her. 

Quirin shot to his feet and rushed forward as well, leaving Varian sitting in the dirt behind him as the animals circled around the struggling group, obviously wishing they could help, but not wanting to get in the way.

However, despite their efforts, the others may as well have been bothersome flies for all the demon cared. 

With an unsettling hiss, Zhan Tiri reared back and opened her mouth wide, her jaw unhinging like a snake, before clamping her flat teeth down on Cassandra’s wrist and eliciting a scream from the woman, though it was more in surprise than pain

Instantly, there was a bright flash and a crackle of energy from the middle of the group, and Varian’s heart leapt into his throat as he realized what had just occurred. 

The demon disappeared within the shadows cast by the others surrounding Cassandra and reappeared only a few feet from Varian, clutching the Sundrop in one hand and the Moonstone in the other.

Varian recoiled immediately, falling back onto his hands and attempting to scramble away. However, a rush of intense, broiling agony surged through his hand when it refused to take his weight, and his entire arm crumpled beneath him from the sheer intensity of the pain. 

Yelling, Varian fell flat on his back, his hand racked with roaring waves of merciless agony as his vision whited out and bile rose in his throat. 

“Varian!” he heard his father shout through the cotton rapidly filling his ears. 

Still caught up in the ruthless barrage of pain, Varian’s eyes drifted uncomprehendingly over his dad’s approaching form before snapping back into focus when they landed on Zhan Tiri standing only feet away. 

It was the first he’d seen of her since he’d gone bird-brained, and, truth be told, it took every last bit of Varian’s willpower to hold onto his meal.

The demon’s face was downright _revolting_.

Fresh burns covered every inch of her body, creating a grisly pattern of oozing red splotches and bubbling blisters. Strips of burnt flesh dangled from her face like gory party streamers, and her skin sagged as if it was about to simply liquefy and melt away, leaving only muscle and bone behind.

Haphazard chunks of charred flesh were all that was left of her right ear, and what little remained of her nose, lips, and other ear were scorched and blackened. Most of her grey hair had been completely seared away to reveal more burned skin, and her eyebrows were next to nonexistent, being only black lines singed onto her face.

Zhan Tiri’s left eye appeared to have been sliced nearly in half before subsequently being melted down to a misshapen ball of goop—all while still inside the eye socket. Bodily fluids that Varian didn’t even want to put a name to dribbled steadily from the charred cavity like candle wax, tracing lines down her grotesque face. 

What parts of the demon’s clothing hadn’t melted to her body hung in scorched tatters around her, though, going by the gruesome state of her face, Varian was honestly amazed that anything had survived at all.

“Varian!” Quirin repeated, falling to his knees beside him. “Son, are you all right?”

Varian started at his father’s sudden appearance, his mind jolting back to the present. And, sadly, back to the pain in his hand as well. 

He hissed through his teeth when his dad accidentally jostled the broken appendage while lifting him into a sitting position, and Quirin winced at the noise.

“Finally…”

At her voice, Varian looked back at Zhan Tiri, who either hadn’t noticed them or simply hadn’t cared. She seemed to be completely transfixed by the two celestial stones she held in her disfigured hands. 

“Finally...” the demon repeated to herself. “They’re mine.” She let out a soft, deranged giggle tinged with hunger and awe.

Suddenly, Zhan Tiri looked up, her one-eyed gaze landing on Rapunzel and Cassandra, both of whom had dropped into a defensive stance. 

Her near-lipless mouth contorted into a maniacal grin, purple eye glittering with triumph. “I’d like to thank both of you for taking care of what rightfully belongs to me,” she told the women with mock sincerity before erupting into crazed laughter.

Varian shivered at the sound, his heart pounding against his rib cage as his hand continued throbbing with agony. 

Zhan Tiri thrust the stones into the sky. “At long last!” she cackled. “They are mine!” 

Varian shrank back against his father’s chest as the sharp, crackling bursts of blue light from the Moonstone began to clash with the Sundrop’s pulsating golden glow. 

The stones rose a few inches into the air before slamming back down onto Zhan Tiri’s wrists with an enormous wave of energy that made Varian’s hair stand on end. 

Without warning, the demon screamed and fell to the ground, beginning to twist and writhe in the dirt as lines of blue and gold energy lit up beneath her skin. 

The group stood frozen, unable to do anything more than watch as the power of the Sundrop and Moonstone appeared to overwhelm Zhan Tiri. 

However, only moments later, the demon’s thrashing slowed, and her screams morphed into high, shrieking giggles, wild and unhinged as they echoed through the trees. Slowly, she returned to her feet and faced the group with closed eyes and a deranged smile, her wrists glowing steadily with the blue and gold light of the stones.

Suddenly, both of her eyes snapped open to stare at them with triumphant, maniacal glee, and Varian couldn’t hold in his gasp when he saw the half-melted goo that remained of her left eye light up like the Moonstone on her wrist. Fluorescent fluids dripped down her cheek like shining blue tears, and on the other side of her face, her right eye was lit up in gold, its warm glow making the burns on her skin look akin to smoldering craters.

Zhan Tiri cackled with delight at the horror on their faces. “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet,” she assured them as the stones began crackling and thrumming on her wrists.

Varian’s eyes grew as large as dinner plates, and he sucked in a breath as large, curled horns sprouted from the demon’s head, and her melted face lengthened into a goat-like snout. Claws grew from her nail beds and fangs from her mouth as her already charred skin darkened even further to match the inky black of the sky. Large tentacles erupted from beneath her scorched skirts, and the ragged remains of her dress split open, falling from her shoulders as she began to grow.

And grow… 

And grow… 

And grow until she was towering far over the trees, her insane laughter booming throughout the entire kingdom. 

“Oh, I have dreamt of wielding the Moonstone and Sundrop for centuries!” Zhan Tiri shrieked with triumphant glee as her tentacles writhed beneath her, knocking over trees with ease and sending debris raining down on the group. 

“Okay, she has hit a _really_ unfortunate growth spurt,” Varian heard Eugene remark feebly. 

“Quirin! Varian! Look out!” 

Varian heard Cassandra’s warning and turned just in time to see a massive tentacle swishing toward them. 

Before it could hit them, however, Varian found himself suddenly smashed against his dad and being jerked out of the way. A quiet whimper escaped him as a bolt of agony surged through his hand at the movement, but he did his best to shove it to the back of his mind. 

When he and his father skidded to a stop and the tentacle swept past them, Varian looked down to see a thick lock of brown hair wrapped around his torso. 

“C’mon! Up and at ‘em! We gotta move!” Cassandra barked, appearing next to them and helping loosen the hair so they could get out. 

Maximus ran up to Rapunzel with Eugene and Pascal on his back, while Fidella, Ruddiger, and his father’s mare hastened toward them.

Suddenly, the ground shook as Zhan Tiri hummed in thought, and everyone froze when she turned her gaze back down to them. A sharp grin sliced across her face. “You know, I believe there’s one more thing I need to do,” she said. 

Varian’s heart stopped as she zeroed in on him, and blood roared in his ears as his mind screamed at him to run, hide, _anything_ , just as long as he escaped her malevolent stare. 

The demon chuckled at his obvious terror, and the faint burn scars remaining on her dark skin stretched gruesomely as her smile sharpened. “You, my dear alchemist, have been a very bad little boy.” She clucked her tongue disapprovingly. “I can recognize the work of an alchemist when I see it,” she said, gesturing to her disfigured face.

Pinned helplessly under Zhan Tiri’s gaze, Varian’s terrified brain short-circuited, leaving him unable to form a single coherent thought as he shook with adrenaline. Everyone else around him faded into the background until it was only him and the demon.

"You know, I was going to let you live, I really was,” Zhan Tiri admitted absently before her voice darkened into something beyond sadistic. “Of course, I wouldn’t have made the same mistake with you as I did with Demanitus.” She chuckled evilly. “No, you’d have remained a bird… unless I ever had need of your mind that is."

Varian couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down his spine at the idea of spending the rest of his life as Zhan Tiri’s… _pet_.

“But you have proved yourself too troublesome to keep around,” the demon continued as he struggled to breathe through his suffocating panic. “So now I have something different in mind.” Zhan Tiri paused, her mismatched eyes seeming to flicker toward something behind him before refocusing on Varian so quickly he thought he must’ve imagined it. The demon’s grin became more of a smirk as she regarded him. “And I _promise_ I will relish every second of it,” she purred. 

Having said her piece, Zhan Tiri straightened with a cackle, her twisting tentacles suddenly moving in unison as she began slithering through the forest toward Cassandra’s tower.

Immediately taking action, Rapunzel exclaimed, “We have to follow her!” as she swung herself onto Maximus’s back behind Eugene. 

Appearing to have zero qualms about rushing into an already impossible battle with no plan whatsoever, the guard-horse gave her a firm nod and reared back before bursting into a sprint and disappearing in the gloom of the woods. 

The pounding of hooves sounded next to Varian as Cassandra and Fidella suddenly rushed past him, charging into the trees after the others.

Varian, however, couldn’t seem to bring himself to move, feeling somewhat shell-shocked as he just stood there staring after them.

“Varian,” Quirin called from behind him. 

Varian started as he felt something cold and wet brush his fingers and looked down to see his ever-faithful raccoon nosing his uninjured hand. 

The barest hint of a smile graced his lips—strained and anxious though it was—, and he crouched down to allow Ruddiger to clamber onto his shoulders. 

Once the raccoon was settled, Varian looked up to see his dad already seated in his mare’s saddle. 

Quirin gave him a faint, reassuring smile, though his brown eyes still glittered with worry and unease as he reached down to help Varian into the saddle.

Once the three of them were situated on the mare, they sped off through the trees, following the path of destruction left by a vengeful demon.

And the dark moon ever-so-slowly began inching away from the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s basically all pain and angst from here on out (at least until we get to the resolution), so strap in your seatbelts, it’s gonna be a whumpy ride!
> 
> BTW, sorry if the whole thing with Cass seemed really sudden. I came into this story with the naïve idea that it would be solely about Varian and only like 20,000 words, so I never really had much of a backstory set for Cass, but I’m working with what I’ve got, and I think you’ll all be at least mostly satisfied with her character arc’s resolution. 
> 
> Please let me know if any typos, plot-holes, or grammatical errors!
> 
> Also, predictions anyone?


	20. Figure This Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "'Dad?' Varian wheezed. 'What- What are you doing? Dad, let go! S-Stop!'"  
> . . . .  
> "Cassandra cast Varian one last glance before giving Eugene a serious look that very clearly said, 'Don’t screw it up.'  
> In response, he sent Cassandra an overly bright smile and a thumbs-up just to get on her nerves before turning away so she couldn’t retaliate.  
> And so she couldn’t see the uncertainty in his eyes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!  
> Near suffocation (specifically positional asphyxia). Very brief, irrational contemplation of death/suicide (don't worry, nothing comes of it).
> 
> *Carefully sprinkles Team Awesome fluff into giant gumbo pot of angst* I felt like I needed to add a tiny heart-warming moment with what's going to happen later on... 
> 
> This chapter's heavy on the hurt/comfort side, so be prepared for angst and tears!   
> I've also got a little surprise at the end! :)

“Wait, where’d she go?” Varian asked in confusion when they broke through the tree line, and the mare slowed to a trot. Anxiety gnawed at his gut and clawed up his throat. However, he swallowed it down, firmly reminding himself that they were out of options; Zhan Tiri had to be stopped regardless of whatever terrifying, ominous threats she made.

Cassandra’s black rock tower loomed menacingly in the epicenter of the clearing, but the demon was nowhere to be found. 

He shifted nervously. “She couldn’t have just disappeared— Wait, no. Yes, she could’ve.” Varian dragged a hand down his face, groaning in frustration as he remembered her shadow-traveling trick. 

“It’ll be alright, son, we’ll figure this out,” Quirin assured him. He nodded to where everyone else was walking around by the foot of the tower. “Perhaps the others saw something when they arrived.” 

As his dad urged the mare back into a gallop, Varian sighed with restlessness and combed his fingers through his messy hair before sighing again. He missed the familiar weight of his goggles on his head; if anything, they at least kept his hair down. It wasn’t that he was upset about being human again— Far from it! He was absolutely overjoyed; it was so nice to feel like himself again, to have an actual human body and not a tiny, hollow-boned, feathered one. But he had this horrible, foreboding feeling… like it wasn’t going to last. 

Which made no sense whatsoever because there was no way in hell he was going to let himself be turned into a bird again. He was just letting Zhan Tiri’s threat get to him, it didn’t mean anything.

But anyways! Maybe he could get his goggles back when everything was resolved, assuming Cassandra still had them. And assuming they could resolve everything.

Although, even then, he’d still need to get the lenses fixed; last he’d seen them, they were both cracked and horribly scratched—

Sharp ripples of agony unexpectedly surged through Varian’s hand as the mare dodged around a cluster of spikes. He grimaced, gritting his teeth until the pain eventually subsided to a slightly more manageable level.

Once they got close enough to the others, Varian cupped his uninjured hand around the side of his mouth and shouted, “Where’d she go?”

At his call, Cassandra turned toward them but waited until they’d stopped before answering. “We have no idea,” she told them bluntly. “She was already gone by the time we got here.”

Varian groaned in vexation, slumping against his father’s chest. 

“Hey, don’t worry,” Rapunzel said with clearly forced optimism and an equally forced smile. “We’ve got this, we’ll figure it out. Zhan Tiri’s a giant, bloodthirsty demon who’s sworn revenge on Corona; she’ll have to show up at _some_ point if she wants to actually exact that revenge.” She rolled her eyes good-naturedly as if it were obvious, her smile fixed in place.

“Right-io, Blondie,” Eugene added encouragingly. “Even Lady Goat-Face can’t hide her ugly mug forever.” 

Maximus whinnied in agreement, pawing at the ground to show his eagerness to take on the demon. 

Varian half-heartedly pumped his fist in the air in mock enthusiasm before sharing an exasperated look with Ruddiger.

“Hey, Quirin?” Rapunzel asked abruptly, peering at the man in concern. “Are you feeling alright?”

Varian didn’t even have time to blink before muscular arms suddenly locked around his skinny chest, squeezing the air from his lungs.

“Dad?” he wheezed in confusion, trying to look up at his father as he tugged on the arms encircling him. “What-What are you doing? Dad, let go! S-Stop!” 

But Quirin ignored his pleas and tightened his already crushing hold, eliciting a strangled gasp from Varian as the rest of the oxygen fled from his lungs. 

“Varian!” 

“Quirin, what are you doing?!”

Shouts of alarm filled the air, though Varian didn’t bother putting names to them as he continued to struggle. Panic and adrenaline were surging through him with the force of a hurricane, and Ruddiger was shrieking angrily in his lap, snapping and scratching at Quirin’s forearms in a futile attempt to loosen his hold.

In response, Quirin’s grip constricted even further, and Varian let out a mute, breathless groan as his ribs creaked under the pressure.

With the need for oxygen rising in the form of a pounding headache, Varian began using his nails to viciously claw at his father’s arms. Instincts seemed to have taken over completely, making him ignorant of the agony lancing through his broken hand. Silent, gasping wheezes were all that left his gaping mouth as blood roared in his ears, and his eyes bugged out of his head. Varian’s lungs screamed for air, but his rib cage only shuddered uselessly within the unyielding embrace, unable to expand and fulfill the plea. 

Beneath them, the mare, spooked by the sudden commotion, reared up, kicking out her front hooves defensively and neighing in distress. 

Having no time to prepare, Varian found himself being pulled off the horse’s back, his father’s weight dragging them both down. 

They hit the ground with a heavy _thump!_ , Varian landing on top of his father. Immediately, he started kicking his heels against Quirin’s shins and elbowing his stomach, all the while writhing and gasping like a fish out of water.

However, despite Varian’s efforts, his father’s grip never faltered, apparently intent on squeezing the life from his son. 

More yelling followed their fall, and several pairs of hands filled his field of vision, grasping at his father’s arms. 

A horse whinnied in panic somewhere in the distance, and Varian’s lungs threatened to explode within his aching chest. His brain felt like an overfull balloon, and his head was swimming. Black spots danced in his eyes as his limbs began to grow heavy, his movements becoming sluggish and clumsy. 

Varian longed to look up at his father’s face, longed to see what was happening, what was wrong, so he could figure out how to fix it. 

Because something had to be wrong; there was no way his dad would ever… do _this_ of his own volition. 

...Although perhaps it was better he couldn’t see Quirin; he didn’t want his father’s face featuring in his nightmares more than it already did. 

That is if he managed to survive the next three minutes.

And going by the way his vision was flickering and fading like a dying candle, that was sounding less and less likely by the second.

As Varian’s struggles weakened and his mind began drifting, the shouts and cries in his ears dimmed to a meaningless buzz, and the pounding in his head became an almost pleasant thrum. 

The only thought that managed to rise through the fog in his brain was, _I thought I could hold my breath longer than this…_

With the calm fluidity of the rising tide, darkness unfurled across his vision and—

Varian’s chest _heaved._

Sweet, sweet oxygen rushed into his lungs as the pressure on his rib cage disappeared, and he was finally allowed to _breathe._

His head spun as he laid there, sucking in as much air as humanly possible. A moment later, someone hooked their fingers under his armpits, pulled his limp body off his father, and half-dragged, half-carried him across the ground, his heels trailing in the dirt before he was deposited a few feet away. 

Varian couldn’t even bring himself to care about being manhandled, the only thoughts occupying his mind were that of oxygen, oxygen, and more oxygen.

Faintly, he heard yelling and the sound of glass breaking, but he didn’t bother turning to see what was happening; instead, choosing to focus solely on the glorious, life-giving air he once again had access to. 

However, the respite didn’t last long, and a hoarse cough bubbled up from his lungs, the organ apparently having decided to punish him for putting it through such strain. 

Without giving him even a second to inhale, a vicious string of racking coughs quickly followed the first, and Varian found himself curling into a ball on his side as his sore chest jerked and spasmed painfully. The fog began returning to his mind as he struggled to breathe in between each fit, though it didn’t promise darkness as it had before; this time, it only came because he was exhausted, in pain, and couldn’t catch his breath. 

Without warning, a warm hand fell on his shoulder, and Varian—still hacking his lungs out—recoiled. However, the hand only rested there for a moment, as if to reassure him, before slowly moving to rub small, therapeutic circles on his back. 

Deciding that he didn’t altogether mind the grounding pressure, Varian allowed the hand to stay as he rode out the rest of the coughing fit. 

Eventually, it died down, and Varian’s whole body fell slack, utterly spent. 

His chest felt tight and tender as he forced it to rise and fall in a somewhat even pattern, his ribs moaning in protest at the blatant disregard for their current state. 

The owner of the warm hand continued massaging his back without a word—for which, Varian was grateful—, but, sadly, the soothing effects of the motion were negated when the fog eventually cleared from his mind, and he could no longer ignore the excruciating pain pulsing through his hand like waves of molten lava. 

And it was that agonizing development that seemed to finally push Varian over the edge. 

Bringing up his mangled hand to cradle it gingerly in the empty space between his chest and his knees, Varian let out a long, low, utterly miserable groan, unable to care in the slightest how childish he sounded. He squirmed uselessly on the ground, kicking his legs and arching his back as if the movement would ease the agony ripping through his hand. Unwelcome tears blurred the edges of his vision, and he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to cry, but honestly feeling too drained to do much about it. His whole body ached with bone-deep exhaustion, and he curled tighter in on himself again, trying half-heartedly to fight the despair threatening to overwhelm him.

Everything felt like it was all crashing down on him at once, and thoughts he never knew he had were rising to the forefront of his mind as if they’d always been there. 

He just— He couldn’t do it anymore! He was so tired of _everything!_ Of demons. Of magic. Of rocks. Of panic. Of fear. Of _pain_. 

...He just didn’t want to hurt anymore.

He was so tired of hurting.

Everything had been spiraling further and further out of his control ever since those stupid black rocks began popping up. And just when things started looking up, he was yanked back down again, almost deeper than before.

Once upon a time, he’d wondered if all this was his punishment, the universe giving him a way to properly pay for all his past misdeeds.

Now, he wondered if that still held true or if the universe had simply decided it liked watching him suffer. Liked watching him fall apart as his world turned on its head. Liked watching him struggle to hold himself together as his friends and family were ripped away from him time and time again. Liked watching him flail around, scrambling to regain control of his life. Liked watching him flinch and squirm and scream and cry and _fail_.

Fail to protect his kingdom. Fail to protect his loved ones. Fail to protect himself.

And Varian wondered, if all this _was_ to compensate for his crimes, if everyone was undergoing all this hardship to punish him, then perhaps… perhaps death would be the better option… Maybe it would save his loved ones from further suffering if he’d already suffered the universe’s ultimate punishment—

“Hey, no, buddy, don’t do that. It’ll be okay, we’ll figure this out.”

Varian started violently at Eugene’s voice, having forgotten the others in his mounting despair. Quickly, he scrubbed at his tears with one hand, mortification settling heavily in his stomach at the realization that everyone had seen him sobbing like a baby. 

Shame colored his cheeks, and his face felt unbearably hot, but he made no move to sit up; instead, he remained on his side, avoiding everyone’s no doubt disgustingly pitying eyes as he stared at the ground. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

The moment Eugene pulled Varian out of Quirin’s quite literal death grip—with a little help from Cassandra, of course, holding the old knight’s unhelpfully strong arms—, Rapunzel threw down a goo ball and trapped the man on the ground.

Eugene panted slightly from exertion as he walked around Quirin, scrutinizing their handiwork.

A cold blue glow emanated from Quirin’s eyes and from beneath his left glove as the former Brotherhood member struggled fruitlessly within the pink goop. He only managed to lift his arms a few inches before they snapped back down, but Rapunzel threw another goo bomb on the man for good measure, leaving him completely covered from neck to toe in the durable slime.

Cassandra growled from the other side of Quirin as she took in the downed knight’s glowing eyes. “It’s the Mind Trap,” she said, a furious edge to her tone. “That must’ve been what Zhan Tiri came here for.”

Before anyone could respond to that lovely development, a hoarse, grating cough sounded behind Eugene, almost making him cringe at the painful-sounding noise. 

_Varian_.

Immediately, the captain spun around and crossed the distance between him and the coughing teenager in three long strides. He kneeled down at Varian’s back, opening his mouth to ask if the kid was alright.

Before abruptly remembering that he wasn’t good at this kind of thing and therefore had no idea what he was doing. 

What on _earth_ was he supposed to say to comfort a teenager who was almost strangled by their mind-controlled father?

What on earth _could_ he say?

Varian coughed again, a dry, rasping sound that made Eugene wince in sympathy. Seemingly unaware of his presence, the boy curled into a tight ball as more harsh coughing racked his skinny frame.

Eugene felt Rapunzel and Cassandra’s eyes on his back, but they didn’t approach, apparently trusting that he could handle it. 

Why they thought he was capable of handling it, he had not a single clue. Rapunzel, he could probably understand to an extent, but Cassandra? In all her overcomplicated, teenager-worthy do-it-myself-ness? 

Letting _him_ handle it?

If he had to guess, he’d say Rapunzel was holding her back.

However, despite his doubts, when a particularly painful-sounding cough flew from Varian’s lips, Eugene found himself acting on instinct. 

Carefully, so as not to startle the kid too badly—though it still prompted a violent flinch of surprise—, he rested his hand on Varian’s shoulder, and when he wasn’t shrugged off, started rubbing small circles on his back in what was hopefully a soothing motion. 

He’d seen Rapunzel do this to upset children a few times before, so he felt relatively confident that he was doing it right.

After what felt like forever, the coughing subsided, and Varian went completely limp, his forced breathing the only indication that he hadn’t just died on the spot. Seeing as the kid wasn’t protesting, Eugene continued rubbing his back, and everything was reasonably calm for a whole quarter of a second.

Suddenly, Varian let out a low, miserable, hitching moan, and Eugene’s rhythmic circles stuttered as his heart skipped a beat, worried that the sound was because of him. Varian writhed in the dirt for a second, holding his injured hand in the pocket of space between his knees and his chest as he somehow managed to curl into an even tighter ball.

Seriously, Eugene hadn’t thought the kid could get any smaller, but apparently, nothing was impossible nowadays.

And then came the tears, silent and sorrowful as they glistened in Varian’s eyes and clung to his eyelashes. Ever-so-slowly, they spilled over, dripping sideways across his face to fall innocently into his dark hair and the rocky dirt beneath his cheek. Varian squeezed his eyes shut then, his expression twisting into one of pain, despair, and torment.

Eugene almost choked. “Hey, no, buddy, don’t do that. It’ll be okay, we’ll figure this out,” he said as gently as he possibly could despite his internal panic _because he didn’t do tears!_ Tears meant people were crying, and if people were crying then he would start crying, and he was an ugly crier, and he just did not need Cassandra making fun of him right now!

Varian jolted at the sound of his voice as if he’d forgotten Eugene was there—which was, frankly, a little offensive. 

The tips of the teen’s ears turned red, and he quickly scrubbed away his tears; however, he remained lying down, refusing to meet Eugene’s eyes. 

Oh, kid.

Before he could reconsider what he was doing, Eugene glanced over his shoulder at the two worried women watching them a few feet away. “Give us a minute,” he mouthed silently with a pointed look at Varian’s balled-up form.

Rapunzel’s expression softened, and she gave him a small, encouraging smile, which he returned—though it might’ve come out more like an apprehensive grimace. Slowly, the love of his life turned away and went to where Fidella was nosing Ruddiger, who lay on the ground, dazed by the fall from the mare’s back. 

Maximus trotted up to her, whinnying in dismay. Apparently, he hadn’t been able to calm Quirin’s horse, and she’d bolted.

Eugene heaved a sigh—there was nothing they could do about it now—and looked to Cassandra, expecting her to follow Rapunzel. However, he was surprised to see the woman wasn’t even paying attention; instead, her gaze was focused solely on Varian’s back, with, dare he say it, _distress_ in her hazel eyes. 

He glanced at Varian to make sure the teen wasn’t watching before waving his hand directly in Cassandra’s line of sight. 

With an annoyed frown, the woman focused on him, and he mouthed, “Go away.” 

Cassandra’s frown deepened, and her worried eyes flickered to Varian again. 

Feeling himself soften slightly at her obvious concern for the kid, Eugene caught her attention once more. “He’ll be alright,” he reassured her silently. “Let me handle this.” 

The woman’s brow furrowed, and she cast Varian one last glance before giving Eugene a serious look that very clearly said, “Don’t screw it up.” 

In response, he sent Cassandra an overly bright smile and a thumbs-up just to get on her nerves before turning away so she couldn’t retaliate. 

And so she couldn’t see the uncertainty in his eyes.

Once again, Eugene found himself staring at Varian’s back, all his misgivings circulating through his mind like a discouraging whirlwind. His eyes drifted to the alchemist’s hand, and it took all of his willpower to swallow the gasp that rose in his throat.

This was his first good look at the injury—on a human—since their failed rescue attempt, and while he’d known Varian’s hand wouldn’t look great, even with the apparent healing properties from the tea, nothing had prepared him for the swollen, mangled mess of broken bones and discolored skin attached to the kid’s wrist. 

It was a lot easier to overlook how bad the injury was when it was tiny and mostly covered in feathers, but when it was just bare skin… Well, Eugene was glad he hadn’t had lunch… 

Suffice to say, Varian’s hand was a lot worse than before. It was a miracle the kid had been able to keep going after all this time. By now, Eugene—though he’d never admit it out loud—probably would’ve just refused to move until he’d gotten medical attention.

Varian himself appeared to be trying to pretend Eugene didn’t exist, though he was certain the kid was now well aware of his presence. 

Sighing softly, Eugene steeled himself as best he could.

“Hey, um, Varian, you okay there?” 

As soon as the words left his mouth, Eugene cringed, feeling like an absolute moron. Of course, Varian wasn’t okay! That had been established a _long_ while ago. 

He tried again. “Er, I mean—” 

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” 

The words were spoken so softly, that Eugene questioned whether he’d heard correctly.

“What—” 

“I can’t do this anymore!” Varian repeated, his voice strained with anguish as he turned his head to look at Eugene for the first time.

The teen’s red face was blotchy and wet, half-covered by his long, blue-streaked fringe, while hot tears carved lines through the spot of dirt that clung to his cheek. His shining blue eyes, two churning seas of emotions, were puffy and bloodshot, though whether the latter was from crying or almost suffocating, Eugene didn’t know. 

The captain tried not to pity the boy in front of him, knowing Varian wouldn’t appreciate it, but he couldn’t help feeling at least a tiny bit sorry for the young alchemist; he’d been through a lot in his short life.

“Look, kid, we’ll figure this out, I prom—” Eugene grimaced and attempted to start over. “What I mean to say is, we’ve been through worse, and we’ve always come out on top. This’ll be no different.” He paused for a moment, and his mouth curved into a small, ironic smile. 

“We just have to have faith,” he finished with certainty, echoing the words once impressed upon him by a very wise monkey. 

Varian, however, wasn’t so taken by the idea. 

Scoffing dismissively, walls slammed over the kid’s expression, and he turned away from Eugene once more. “Faith doesn’t get you anywhere in life. I should know,” he stated scathingly, though the effect of his cutting tone was ruined by the way his voice cracked and his eyes glistened with a fresh film of tears.

Eugene winced, instantly recognizing what he was referring to. It was a low blow, and they both knew it, though Varian didn’t really seem to care. “Okay, that- that was a little— That was—” He sighed, giving up. “You know what? Nevermind. The point is, Demanitus himself told me that, and he was, what? The most renowned science nerd of the century? I think that, out of everyone, he knows what he’s talking about.”

Varian muttered something unintelligible in response, and Eugene huffed a quiet laugh at the kid’s poor attempt to hide his very obvious shock.

A slightly uncertain silence fell between them, waiting to be broken. And broken it was. 

With a defeated sigh, full of exhaustion and sorrow, Varian craned his neck to look Eugene full in the face. The alchemist’s doleful gaze was like a fragile sheet of ice, threatening to splinter beneath the lightest pressure and send the boy hurtling down into the cold, black depths of some freezing, watery abyss. 

The sight made Eugene slightly apprehensive if he was being honest with himself. 

Suddenly, he knew with absolute certainty that this was the turning point. Here, Varian would either shatter irreparably, or he would get back on his feet and push through to fight another day. 

And it was up to Eugene to decide which one would happen.

“I just…” Varian trailed off, his eyes drifting to the side. After a second, he took a breath and continued in a small voice. “I can’t- I can’t do this anymore…” 

Eugene’s heart ached at the young alchemist’s words, and he took a steadying breath of his own. _Don’t screw it up_ , he reminded himself firmly.

And so, speaking in the gentlest, softest, most understanding voice he could muster, Eugene asked, “And what’s stopping you?” 

Varian glanced back up at him, fresh tears glistening in his light blue eyes. “I’m… I’m _tired_ …” he admitted softly as if ashamed of the fact. 

Eugene’s heart ached harder.

“Varian, it’s okay to be tired,” he assured the alchemist kindly. “You’re human just like I am, and that means the only thing we can do when we’re tired and we feel like giving up is to just push through it. Because we know, we have _faith_ , that by the end of the battle, we’ll be able to rest with the knowledge that it’s over, for better or for worse.”

Varian was silent as Eugene’s little speech sunk in. He looked down at his mangled hand, contemplating it sadly for a long moment, before returning his gaze to the captain and whispering defeatedly, “But I feel like I’ve been fighting this battle weaponless, sleepless, hopeless, and with one hand tied behind my back.” The teen let out a dry, broken laugh, devoid of humor. “Literally.” 

Varian sighed wearily. “Every time we think we’ve gotten ahead, every time we think we’ve outsmarted her, every time we think we’ve finally regained some semblance of _control_ , she comes right back and proves that we have nothing on her.” 

The alchemist’s voice wobbled, and the fragile sheet of ice in his gaze shuddered, hairline fractures slowly creeping across the surface. “Eugene, I’m- I’m not like you guys, I can’t just have faith that everything will turn out alright. That’s never worked for me. And I—” His voice broke, and the cracks widened. 

Eugene placed a comforting hand on the boy’s arm. “Then don’t,” he told him simply. 

Varian’s brow furrowed in confusion, but before he could question him, Eugene forged ahead. “But remember,” the captain said, “that you’re not fighting this battle alone, I’m right here with you.”

Eugene gazed intently at the sheet of ice, willing the cracks to disappear. “You don’t have to have faith in everything, Varian… Just know that I have faith in you.”

At his words, the cracks vanished, and the tears in Varian’s eyes spilled over, streaming down the sides of his face and dripping into his hair. 

Eugene blanched, his own eyes widening in alarm as his mind went into a state of utter panic. What did he do? What did he say? Where did he go wrong? Oh, he’s really done it now; Cassandra’s going to kill him! He should’ve just let Rapunzel—

Wait. Was Varian… hugging him?

A bolt of shock coursed through the captain as he realized that Varian was indeed hugging him. 

With his injured hand held close to his chest, the teen had rolled over and proceeded to wrap one arm around Eugene’s midriff before burying his face in the captain’s jacket. 

Eugene froze. For some reason, he hadn’t been expecting this, which, in hindsight, was rather shortsighted of him; Varian had generally always been a more touchy-feely-type person. 

The captain held in an awkward cough, not wanting to give the kid the wrong idea, and carefully patted Varian’s head. “It- It’ll be alright, Varian,” he said, hoping to the Sun that he didn’t sound like a broken record. “We’ll figure this out.”

Varian didn’t respond, he only pressed his face harder against Eugene’s jacket as his narrow shoulders shook with silent sobs. 

It should’ve been Quirin, or at least Rapunzel, doing this, but there was something about the way the teen hunched in on himself almost defensively, as if he expected to be shoved away at any moment, that made Eugene’s previous awkwardness transform into something else. Something foreign, yet familiar, but still not quite the same. 

Whatever it was, it was powerful, and it moved Eugene’s arms to wrap around Varian, pulling the kid’s torso up off the ground and into a proper embrace—though he still kept his hold relatively loose, not wanting to send the boy into a panic if it reminded him of recent events that shall remain unspecified.

Varian’s sobs stuttered in surprise when Eugene hugged him back, but he seemed relieved, so the captain took it as a win and silently congratulated himself. 

The teen shifted slightly to make the position more comfortable, uncurling his arm from around Eugene and tucking it against his chest near his broken hand.

Like this, it was mostly Eugene holding Varian as the kid rested his head against Eugene’s chest, but he couldn’t really bring himself to complain. A faint smile tugged the corner of his mouth as a joke about how he was always doing all the work rose to his lips. However, seeing as now really wasn’t the time for humor what with the crying teenager in his arms, he held his tongue, and instead, rested his chin on Varian’s head and started rubbing his back again. 

After a little while, the tears stopped flowing, and they both simply sat there, a comfortable silence stretching between them.

Eventually, Varian looked up at Eugene with a vaguely sheepish expression. “Sorry,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse from crying.

Eugene gave him an easy smile. “Don’t worry about it, Hairstripe,” he assured him. 

“But I got your jacket all wet…”

The captain’s smile became ever-so-slightly more forced. “Eh, I got a dozen others just like it,” he said, stiffly waving it away. 

Nodding absently, Varian glanced away before a small, hesitant smile curled across his lips. He looked back up. “And, Eugene?” he said. “Thanks.”

A warm feeling blossomed in Eugene’s chest at the sincerity in Varian’s voice, and his own smile grew fond as he ruffled the kid’s hair. Maybe he could be good at this kind of thing. “Anytime, k—”

“Well, this is all very touching, but I’m afraid you’ve ruined my fun… And I can’t have that, now can I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I end on a lot of Zhan Tiri lines, don't I? XD
> 
> As I've found, I'm not the best at writing fluffy moments, but I hope this chapter turned out well enough!   
> Constructive criticism is immensely appreciated (don't worry about sounding nitpicky or rude, I don't mind)! Let me know what parts you thought I did good on and what I should've expanded on further, so I can adjust accordingly!  
> (BTW, if it wasn't clear, the "foreign, yet familiar, but not quite the same" feeling that Eugene got with Varian was sort of a "protective fondness", so to speak. It was "foreign" b/c he wasn't really expecting it, "familiar" b/c he's used to feeling for Rapunzel, and "not quite the same" b/c it's more of a familial version of the feeling, rather than a romantic one like with Rapunzel.)
> 
> As promised, the surprise:  
> https://pin.it/6iSpXk0  
> The explanation:  
> I got a little inspired shortly after writing this chapter way back when, and I wanted to try out making my own fanart. I typically draw realism with normal graphite pencils, so this was a bit out of my comfort zone. Regardless, while it's nowhere near as good as other people's, it was pretty good for me, so I figured I'd share it. (My handwriting sucks, so it took me forever to make the caption legible lol.)  
> I've got a few more for some other chapters too, so I'll put those up when we get there!


	21. Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "At the edge of the forest, Zhan Tiri smirked, her fangs flashing within her goat-like snout as the Sundrop and Moonstone hummed and crackled on her wrists. 'Shall we get started?' she asked, her smile curling maliciously."  
> . . . .  
> "Varian shot to his feet, hoping with all his heart that he was mistaken. He shook his head roughly, squeezing his eyes shut as tightly as he could.  
> After a second, he reopened them—  
> 'No, no, no, no, no, no, no. _No._ Plea- _Please_ , no…'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!  
> Panic attacks
> 
> Some of the dialogue here was taken from _Plus Est En Vous_.

The Earth shook as Zhan Tiri crawled out of the shadows in the forest with a predatory grin. The demon was so large that she had to bend over to fit herself through them; shuffling forward on her hands like a fat rat pulling itself out of its hidey-hole.

The comparison almost brought a grin to Varian’s face. Almost.

Eugene shot to his feet, pulling Varian up with him, and together, they slowly backed away towards the rest of the group. 

Zhan Tiri ignored them for the most part as she finished extricating herself from the shadows, her movements relaxed and unhurried.

A few tense steps later, Varian and Eugene stopped between Fidella and Rapunzel.

Zhan Tiri let out a great sigh as she straightened up to tower over them. “You know, the Mind Trap is very useful, but what good is it really when everyone else is too far away to be of use?” the demon asked absently as she studied something in her enormous palm.

Understanding—and a hint of slightly guilty relief—flooded through Varian, and he looked around frantically in search of his father. Finally, he caught sight of Quirin trapped in some of his goo, and, sure enough, his eyes were glowing a bright, menacing blue.

He didn’t get to study his father long though, before suddenly, Zhan Tiri laughed, snapping Varian’s attention back to her. “Ah well,” the demon said with a grin. “He might still be of use later on.” She tossed whatever was in her palm behind her, and Varian managed to make out a faintly glowing, light blue object before it was caught by one of the demon’s tentacles. 

_That must be the Mind Trap_ , he realized, having heard its description from the others. However, despite his best efforts, it was impossible to keep track of such a tiny object within the monstrous, writhing mass of black tendrils, and Varian soon lost sight of it. 

Out of nowhere, something chittered loudly in Varian’s ear, making him jump a mile. Although, he quickly discovered that the noise had come from Ruddiger, who was sitting on Fidella’s back. 

The raccoon nuzzled his face affectionately, cooing as he started to crawl onto his shoulders. 

But, no matter how much he desperately wanted to feel Ruddiger’s comforting, familiar weight on his shoulders, Varian gently pushed him back onto Fidella’s saddle. 

At the rejection, Ruddiger pulled on a hurt expression and gave him a confused churr. 

“Stay with Fidella,” Varian told him softly, regretfully. “You’ll be safer with her, okay?” 

For a moment, the raccoon looked like he might ignore the request and get on his shoulders anyway, but, to Varian’s surprise and relief, Ruddiger obeyed—though with very obvious reluctance. 

Varian smiled gratefully. “Thanks, buddy,” he said, giving his loyal friend a scratch behind the ear. 

At the edge of the forest, Zhan Tiri smirked, her fangs flashing within her goat-like snout as the Sundrop and Moonstone hummed and crackled on her wrists. “Shall we get started?” she asked the group, her smile curling maliciously.

Before anyone had time to react, a bright flash of white light engulfed the clearing followed by a deafening rumble.

The group spun around, braced for an attack, but as the light faded, Varian’s jaw fell slack and his eyes widened in… shock? Awe? Terror? He didn’t even know. 

However, what he did know was that Cassandra’s black rock tower was… no longer completely black. Or a tower for that matter.

Instead, it now resembled an enormous, spiky tree. The “trunk” was black and jagged as the original tower had been, only now, gnarled, twisting branches thicker than a wagon had sprouted haphazardly along the trunk. Bright golden “leaves” decorated each branch, their serrated edges glistening hungrily in the half-light of the eclipse. The tree crackled and groaned where it stood; its branches seemed to be in a constant state of motion, shifting and contorting around the trunk like massive spiny snakes. The towering structure exuded pure malevolence. It felt as though the tree itself was contemplating them, like a spider watching an oblivious fly wander into its web. The dark tree reached out to them, calling them, coaxing them nearer, drawing them in, luring them closer and closer and closer—

Varian shuddered, his thoughts becoming increasingly panicked the longer he stared at the sinister structure. 

But he may as well have been dreaming. 

From within the cage his mind had suddenly become, Varian felt himself take a slow step forward. 

The tree’s malignant aura swelled in response, and Varian’s panic intensified. 

He pounded fiercely against the confines of his skull, silently pleading with his body to _listen to him_. Every fiber of Varian’s being was shrieking with terror, urging him to _getawaygetawaygetaway_.

It was as if he were going bird-brained again; his human side fighting desperately— _futilely_ —against the avian instincts taking over. But despite his efforts, in the end, he could do nothing but watch as he—

“What do you think?” 

The unexpected question ripped Varian from his daze, sending him stumbling backward and gasping for air. He gripped his chest as his heart hammered against his ribcage, which made his hand throb with agony.

Zhan Tiri cackled in delight at her nightmarish creation, a pleased grin settling on her lips. 

As he attempted to calm himself, Varian noticed the others recovering from similar reactions. Each of them gasping as they stared with wide-eyed dread between the demon and the tree.

A flicker of movement caught the corner of Varian’s eye, and he glanced to his right. 

Horror flooded through him. “Dad!” he shouted before he could stop himself.

At his cry, the others turned to see what he was looking at. 

Lying on a golden rock pedestal nearly thirty feet above them was Quirin, still encased in goo. A small cage of rocks had also formed around the man, keeping him from falling off. His face was completely impassive as he stared over the edge of the platform with glowing blue eyes, not at all concerned about his somewhat precarious position.

Smile growing ever-wider, Zhan Tiri raised her left hand before pausing dramatically. 

Varian’s gaze flickered back to the demon, muscles tensing in preparation for whatever other horrors might be thrown at them. 

Zhan Tiri’s grin sharpened, and she snapped her fingers. 

Immediately, a loud, grinding _crack!_ resounded from the great tree, and a gigantic black branch swooped down, its deadly golden leaves cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter.

“Look out!” Eugene shouted needlessly as he grabbed Rapunzel’s arm and started sprinting away from Zhan Tiri and the tree in order to escape the branch’s path.

“Thanks a lot, Captain Obvious!” Cassandra yelled as she ran after the two while the animals, having been closer to the other side of the branch, began running in the opposite direction. 

All of them were apparently ignorant to the fact that they were leaving someone behind.

Struck by indecision, Varian looked between the massive branch, his dad, and the others. 

His moment of hesitation cost him, however, and by the time he finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do for his father, the branch was nearly upon him. 

Letting out a completely masculine yelp, he sprinted after the animals.

Meanwhile, the branch continued its downward ascent, creaking and moaning as the black rocks shifted and ground against each other, and the golden leaves whistled through the air. Through it all, Zhan Tiri watched with a grin on her face, laughing as a cruel child would while frying ants under a magnifying glass. Finally, with a thunderous crunch, the end of the branch crashed into the ground behind Varian.

The earth shook as glittering leaves carved deep gouges through the dirt and rocks, and Varian let out a gasp that quickly turned into a yelp when he was sent sprawling. 

As he flailed his arms around in an attempt to catch his balance, Varian’s injured hand smacked into a nearby black rock, sending crackling arcs of agony through the mutilated appendage and pulling a pained yell from his lips. 

Tears welled at the corners of his eyes, and Varian gritted his teeth, breathing harshly through his nose. However, before he could make himself start running again, the quaking stopped.

Glancing behind him, Varian saw that the branch had completed its arc and left the ground. Huge mounds of freshly churned-up dirt and numerous jagged scores in the earth were all that remained in its destructive wake.

Other than Zhan Tiri’s large, looming figure and his dad’s motionless one, there was no one else in sight. The Eclipse Tree—he didn’t have time to think of a better, more creative name, so something straightforward and simple would have to suffice—towered over the clearing, its suffocating presence impossible to ignore. Clusters of black spikes glittered around them, their keen points dark and taunting. 

Varian glanced back at Zhan Tiri. Immediately, the demon met his gaze, her golden eye flashing with vindictive glee as her useless blue eye rolled slightly in the socket, sending a fresh trickle of fluid rolling down her scarred cheek. 

Slowly, mockingly, she raised her hands, maintaining eye contact with Varian all the while, as the celestial stones on her wrists flickered menacingly. 

Before he could react, a great, grinding moan filled the air, and the world lit up once again in a dazzling white light. 

Blinded, Varian raised a hand to cover his eyes—

Just as quickly as it came, the light dissipated, leaving bright spots floating through Varian’s vision. 

Letting out a heavy, shuddering breath, he rubbed his eyes roughly. After another moment, he finally managed to blink the rest of the spots away and take in his altered surroundings.

All around the clearing, the once-black spikes now glimmered cruelly with a cold golden glow while the Eclipse Tree stood tall in the center, its branches still shifting and grinding against one another. 

Zhan Tiri cackled behind Varian, her voice full of sadistic excitement.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Raps?” Cassandra shouted. “Fitzherbert?”

Panic clawed at her throat, and she gripped her sword tighter, making the leather creak within her clenched fist as she continued calling for the others. 

“Varian? Max? Fidella?”

She’d fallen behind Rapunzel and Eugene when her leg got caught on a short spike. The deafening roar of the massive branch grinding through the earth had masked her calls, and the others had kept running, not realizing that they were leaving her behind. 

By the time the branch had left the ground, she’d completely lost sight of them, and the explosion of light and obnoxiously tall golden spikes hadn’t helped matters because now she couldn’t even see Zhan Tiri anymore.

Cassandra winced as she moved forward, each step pulling uncomfortably at the stinging cut on her calf. It wasn’t a deep wound, more of a scrape really, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying.

She knew, at least from the last time she’d seen them, that Rapunzel and Eugene were safe, and she thought she’d caught a brief glimpse of the animals running in the opposite direction, but that still left one person unaccounted for.

Varian had been lost in the chaos when everyone started scrambling to escape the enormous branch bearing down on them, and Cassandra hadn’t seen or heard from him since. 

So she’d decided that her only possible course of action now was to find him. Rapunzel and Eugene could take care of themselves, but an injured, sixteen-year-old alchemist without his alchemy? Doubtful.

Abruptly, a thought struck her, and Cassandra quickened her pace. 

That little idiot better not have tried to stay with his dad. None of them could do anything for Quirin right now, and Zhan Tiri already said she wasn’t going to kill him yet, so staying with the man—and therefore, staying in the branch’s path—was a death sentence.

Sometimes—well, actually, most of the time, Cassandra thought—, the tiny genius’s undying loyalty to his father, while endearing, could make him surprisingly stupid surprisingly quickly.

As Cassandra continued toward what she hoped was the area where Quirin had been, her thoughts drifted, and she found herself once again contemplating her future. 

She couldn’t stay in the kingdom, that she knew for certain, but if she couldn’t stay, then where would she go?

Zhan Tiri's earlier words whispered through her mind. _“Without my intervention, you would have left Rapunzel before she reached the Moonstone and gone on to fulfill your real destiny: to free the small kingdom of Monnix from your father’s tyranny.”_

Could she… 

No, of course, she couldn’t. Zhan Tiri was probably lying anyway; she just wanted to distract her. Cassandra had never even heard of “Monnix” before.

But the thought continued niggling at the back of her mind.

Suddenly, the earth trembled slightly beneath Cassandra’s feet, and she froze. 

She still couldn’t see Zhan Tiri around all the tall golden spikes, but she could imagine the demon shifting somewhere up ahead, her tentacles writhing and beating against the ground as they pushed her massive body across the earth.

After another second, the trembling stopped.

Cassandra remained unmoving for a moment longer before cautiously resuming her trek through the maze of rocks. 

Zhan Tiri’s rock tree towered over her ominously, blocking out the eclipse and casting a dark shadow over the entire clearing. A chill trickled down her spine as its malevolent presence scuttled around at the edges of her consciousness. The black and gold structure bore an eerie resemblance to the Great Tree—

Out of nowhere, a terrified scream rent the air, and Cassandra’s heart leaped into her throat.

_Varian_.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Suddenly, Varian was thrown back as the scraping groan of stone filled his ears, and a flash of blue light burst from the ground in front of him.

He yelped as he landed flat on his back, only just managing to keep his injured hand from smacking against the…

_No._

Varian shot back to his feet, hoping with all his heart that he was mistaken. He shook his head roughly, squeezing his eyes shut as tightly as he could.

After a second, he reopened them—

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no. _No._ Plea- _Please_ , no… ”

Varian’s breathing hitched and stuttered as he stared uncomprehendingly at the four walls of black rocks surrounding him, caging him. His vision blurred as he fought to keep himself calm despite the hard knot of panic forming in his chest. 

_Get ahold of yourself!_ he thought harshly. _Eugene said he had faith in you, so now’s the time to prove that his faith isn’t misplaced._

The glistening ebony floor beneath his feet trembled as an enormous shadow fell over the cage, and Varian’s poor attempt at a calming pep talk was forgotten in an instant. 

He looked up to see Zhan Tiri looming over him, studying her handiwork with a thoughtful expression. Her gaze cast a hazy beam of blue and gold light. A glowing dribble of bodily fluid dripped from her mutilated left eye.

“Hmm, something’s missing,” the demon murmured with a slight grin. “Perhaps…” She raised her hand, and the stones on her wrists pulsed. 

Without warning, the grinding of rocks sounded around him, and there was another flash of blue light before something slammed into Varian’s back, sending him careening forward with a hoarse gasp of surprise and fear. 

The knot of panic tensed and throbbed within his ribcage, his heart thumping wildly beside it. 

Before he’d even stopped moving, Varian glimpsed a third flare of blue, and another column of black rocks struck his right side. He stumbled into the stone bars, his head smacking against the hard rocks with a hollow _crack!_ as his hand throbbed with agony at all the thrashing around.

Gritting his teeth, Varian attempted to calm his racing heart. The black rock cage creaked and groaned menacingly around him, but, despite his fear, he squeezed his eyes shut, irrationally hoping that perhaps if he couldn’t see the source of his panic, then maybe his lungs would start working properly again. 

_Eugene has faith in you,_ he reminded himself desperately. _You just have to- to stay in control._

Suddenly, the rocks shifted beneath his feet, and Varian’s eyes flew open reflexively as his legs were yanked out from under him. He pitched sideways and only just managed to angle his body so that he fell on his right side rather than his left.

The knot of panic pulsed and swelled in his chest, threatening to overwhelm him with memories he would very much rather forget. 

Zhan Tiri chuckled overhead as he rolled onto his knees, bracing one hand on the ground. “No, I don’t think that was it,” she remarked, her grin widening with delight at being able to—literally—throw him around like a ragdoll. 

However, completely disregarding the obvious stupidity of the action, Varian ignored the demon. Instead, he pressed his right hand against his closed eyes, creating explosions of color beneath his eyelids as he tried to distract himself from his horrible reality. 

_Think happy thoughts_ , he told himself frantically. _Think of- of alchemy! And Ruddiger and Dad!_

Nope, nope, nope. That had been the wrong thing to think about.

Because with thoughts of his father came thoughts of the Mind Trap and pressure on his chest and pain in his lungs and panic in his mind and fear in his heart. 

Zhan Tiri was saying something, but Varian couldn’t hear her. He only retained just enough awareness to keep his injured hand tucked safely near his chest as he doubled over, pressing his forehead against the cool ground. Everything felt jumbled and disjointed, disconnected and nonsensical. The knot of panic within his chest felt like a lead weight, pushing and pressing up against his insides as if his sore rib cage wasn’t big enough to hold it. It almost felt like he was dry heaving, like his body trying to force something out that had never been there in the first place. 

Except something was there: that aching knot of panic threatening to burst through his rib cage. With each horrible pulse and throb, bad memories flooded his mind. Black rocks barrelled towards him. Snapping fingers echoed in his ears. Manacles crushed and constricted around his ankle—

Something slammed into Varian’s side, sending him rolling across the floor to the middle of the cage.

He barely noticed it.

_Glowing rocks shot toward him, promising pain— Lightning bolts of agony crackled through his fingers— Black manacles squeezed—_

Something cold and hard locked around his ankles. 

His wrists. 

His legs. 

His arms. 

His torso.

His throat.

His face.

Rough and unforgiving, glowing black rocks encased almost his entire body in less than a second.

There was a beat of complete and utter profound silence… before the knot of panic exploded.

And Varian _screamed_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know, Varian screams a lot in this fic... Not entirely sure what that says about my mental health lol.
> 
> Also, I was having some internet issues while I was editing this, so please let me know if you came across any typos/grammatical errors or continuity errors that I missed! 
> 
> Here's the picture that goes with this chapter, let me know if the link doesn't work: https://pin.it/5Qy1ZxS  
> (Also, I got about halfway through drawing that when I realized I didn’t know how to draw a tree with leaves, so I just kinda colored it gold and drew an example of one of the leaves at the bottom. XD)


	22. I Made an Oath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Cassandra had made an oath, and though she might’ve broken it at first, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to keep trying to stand by it.  
> She owed it to Varian to try. And by the Sun, would she try. Even if it took the rest of her life.  
> At the silent proclamation, Cassandra’s self-loathing thoughts dissipated, leaving her mind calm and quiet for the first time in days."  
> . . . .   
> "With slow, careful movements, she peered around the spikes, and Zhan Tiri finally came fully into view.  
> Immediately, white-hot anger surged beneath Cassandra’s skin as she took in the scene. Her whole body shook with rage, and her fists clenched so tightly it was a wonder her sword hilt didn’t crumple within her grip.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, this chapter and the last one are mostly just for Cassandra's character development.

The wild scream of unadulterated terror grated harshly against Cassandra’s eardrums. But as she cut through the walls of golden spikes that dared stand in her way, there was only one thought running through her mind.

 _Varian_.

Morbid as it was, Cassandra could recognize his scream, having been the cause of it more times than she wanted to even think about.

Regardless, she thanked the Sun above for Adira’s shadow blade, the one thing that could actually cut through the indestructible rocks. Without it, Cassandra feared it would take too long for her to get to Varian. 

Suddenly, the scream was cut off, leaving only an unsettling echo in its place, and Cassandra quickened her pace, resisting the urge to call for Varian in case Zhan Tiri was also within earshot. 

Sure enough, only moments later, the demon came into view, her enormous form appearing bit by bit over the tall spikes. Zhan Tiri looked to be leaning over—which explained why she hadn’t been visible earlier—, and she had a delighted look on her face partnered with a predatory grin on her lips. The golden rocks blocked what the demon was looking at, but the amount of malice and hatred Zhan Tiri directed at the unfortunate subject of her attention gave Cassandra a pretty good idea.

She knew if she wanted to be of any help to Varian, she had to think logically. If she kept chopping down the rocks, Zhan Tiri would undoubtedly hear the noise, and any advantage she might’ve had would be dust in the wind. 

So in order to make a successful rescue attempt, Cassandra needed to approach quietly, assess the situation, and determine Varian’s condition.

The thought that he would be in a “condition” made Cassandra’s stomach churn. Varian had been through enough, he didn’t deserve any of what was happening to him.

 _But you dragged him along anyway, didn’t you?_ came a faint hiss from the back of her mind. 

All at once, the guilt she’d been pushing to the side reared its ugly head, ripping and tearing and roaring within her. 

Almost unwillingly, Cassandra’s brain conjured up the image of Varian’s mangled hand, the injury she’d been the cause of. 

He would never be able to use that hand again.

Cassandra was no doctor, she had zero medical knowledge beyond basic field medicine, but even she could tell there was no fixing the alchemist’s hand. 

That injury would remain with Varian for the rest of his life, permanently sabotaging his future. It would be a constant reminder of what she’d done to him, what she’d put him through.

 _And it was all for one phony destiny_ , her mind scoffed disdainfully, getting louder and more confident. _You caused all that pain for something that was never yours to begin with. You made everyone around you suffer for your gullibility. You made Varian pay the price for your stupidity. He’s_ still _paying the price. And he will continue to pay the price until the day he dies!_ her mind snarled, its voice rising to a shriek within her skull. _And it’s your fault! All of this is your fault! Everyone’s suffering because of you! Zhan Tiri’s free because of you! They’re all going to die because of you! It’s your fault, your fault, your fault!_

Cassandra stumbled, the cut on her leg pulling unexpectedly when her foot skidded on a loose stone. The offending pebble clattered loudly against the hard earth as it tumbled down the slight incline. Each sharp _crack!_ sounded like the clang of a hammer striking the nails into her coffin. 

Cassandra froze in response to the racket, her thoughts scattering as her heart started pounding in her skull. Tentatively, she peeked over the spikes to see if Zhan Tiri had heard her blunder. 

For one terrifying moment, it seemed she had, and the demon straightened, towering far above the gold spikes with an expression of murderous contemplation. Her blue eyeball rolled in its socket at the motion, and a thin trail of goop oozed down her cheek.

Cassandra shivered imperceptibly, hunkering down as far as she could within the clusters of spikes. Blood roared in her ears and adrenaline flooded through her system. How she could have mistaken that monstrosity for a wise confidante would forever remain a mystery.

Zhan Tiri scanned the area without a single word—which was very uncharacteristic of her; she seemed to love the sound of her own voice—, and her luminescent gaze passed over Cassandra’s hiding place without pause. Her eyes eventually stopped at her rock tree, and a thin smile curled across her lips. 

“You know, Varian,” the demon said suddenly, “your similarities to Demanitus truly are remarkable.”

Cassandra flinched at the booming voice. She wanted to believe that the demon hadn’t noticed her, but, as she’d found, when it came to Zhan Tiri, one could never truly be too careful.

With that thought in mind, Cassandra went through her options, and after a second of deliberation, let out a silent sigh of defeat. 

Her best bet would be to continue approaching and simply pray to the Moon that Zhan Tiri hadn’t, in fact, noticed her. 

Mentally berating herself for letting her thoughts get the better of her, Cassandra shook her head roughly. She could not let that happen again, or else Varian—

_Or else Varian would pay the price. As he always does for your mistakes. It’s your fault he—_

Cassandra let out a silent growl of frustration. She already knew all of this was her fault!

The only thing she could say was that she was doing her best to make up for it. She’d made an oath—

_And you broke it less than—_

No! She’d made an oath, and though she might’ve broken it at first, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to keep trying to stand by it. 

Cassandra owed it to Varian to try. And by the Sun, would she try. Even if it took the rest of her life.

At the silent proclamation, Cassandra’s self-loathing thoughts dissipated, leaving her mind calm and quiet for the first time in days.

However, Cassandra didn’t stop to question it; instead, she clenched her jaw with renewed determination and resumed her advance. 

Beyond the rocks, Zhan Tiri hummed thoughtfully. “As far as I know, Demanitus never had any siblings or lovers,” she said, “but it makes me wonder if perhaps you are somehow a descendent of his.” The demon paused for a moment, and Cassandra strained her ears for Varian’s reply, but, to her rising apprehension, there was nothing, only the deep cracking and groaning of the rock tree in the background. 

“You have all the same little quirks,” Zhan Tiri continued, her voice abruptly darkening into a snarl. “The same expressions, the same reactions, the same mannerisms. And both your brains, and your mouths for that matter, are too big for your overlarge heads, hence the…” Zhan Tiri trailed off, and Cassandra glanced over to see the demon gesturing vaguely to her mouth.

“And,” a raw, guttural growl suddenly erupted from Zhan Tiri’s throat, “you both betray the people who trust you.” 

Abruptly, the familiar grinding of stone filled Cassandra’s ears accompanied by the crackling hum of the Moonstone and the Sundrop. Her heart skipped a beat, and she picked up her pace, moving through the walls of golden spikes as quickly as she could.

After what felt like way too long, but was actually only a few seconds, Cassandra spotted an opening and hastened toward it. Keeping herself out of sight, she stopped and crouched down beside the gap. Then, with slow, careful movements, she peered around the spikes, and Zhan Tiri finally came fully into view. 

Immediately, white-hot anger surged beneath Cassandra’s skin as she took in the scene. Her whole body shook with rage, and her fists clenched so tightly it was a wonder her sword hilt didn’t crumple within her grip.

Only twenty yards away, a single jagged arm of faintly glowing black rocks held Varian suspended in the air above a cage-like structure. A dark stone gag covered the alchemist’s mouth, keeping him quiet as more black rocks worked on encasing the rest of his body. Varian himself seemed to be completely frozen with fear, and what Cassandra could see of his face was as pale as a corpse. His light blue eyes were glazed, and his pupils barely visible, having shrunk to mere pinpricks. He probably wasn’t even aware of what was happening anymore.

But what really made Cassandra’s blood boil were the tears rolling softly down Varian’s cheeks, making his face glisten in the half-light. 

Suddenly, Varian looked very, very young. 

Zhan Tiri let out a dry cackle that echoed jarringly around the clearing. “Demanitus never stopped jabbering on about loyalty and friendship and trust,” the demon spat, her right eye and the remains of her left eye flashing dangerously. “And yet, he was the one who was disloyal first! He was the one who turned his back first! He was the one who started breaking promises _first!_ ” 

With each snarl, the rocks in the clearing—both black and gold alike—shivered, rattling ominously against one another.

The rock tree behind Cassandra moaned, its branches creaking and shifting as its leaves crackled and shuddered.

Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Zhan Tiri suddenly broke out into a hysterical fit of laughter, leaning back on her tentacles as shrill guffaws burst from her throat.

Chills ran down Cassandra’s spine at the unhinged noise, and half her mind screamed at her to run from the insane demon while the other half screamed for blood.

But she held her ground and waited for an opening. She _refused_ to do anything that might make her end up going back on her oath again, no matter what her brain wanted. 

The demon’s maniacal laughter soon faded into chuckles, and she let out a breathy sigh before her expression lit up abruptly. Zhan Tiri turned her head to look directly at Cassandra’s hiding place. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Cassandra,” she said with a sharp grin. 

Before Cassandra could react, the demon threw her arms to the sky. As her wrists drew closer, the Moonstone released its most powerful crackle yet, and Sundrop thrummed so hard the ground trembled. The two stones flared brightly, sending a dazzling burst of blue and gold light across the clearing.

The rock tree rumbled restlessly, the golden leaves scraping against each other as the black branches cracked and contorted.

Zhan Tiri gasped in surprise, apparently not having expected the reaction. She grunted and attempted to pull her hands away but only succeeded in making the stones flash and vibrate harder. 

The demon growled in frustration—and maybe even a little desperation; however, Cassandra was hesitant to label Zhan Tiri as being desperate.

Suddenly, the stones released another blinding burst of light, causing Zhan Tiri to stumble back, and Cassandra took her chance.

Keeping one eye on the demon, she made a beeline for the black rock cage and slid to a stop before it. After less than a second of calculation, she thrust her sword low, burying the blade into the dark rocks with ease before pulling to the right and effectively slicing clean through three large spikes. 

Behind her, the thrumming intensified, and Zhan Tiri let out a yelp of alarm. The ground quaked as the demon struggled, and Cassandra staggered backward, her blade making a soft _shing!_ as it was tugged free. 

Before she could fall over completely, however, Cassandra managed to regain her balance—though she almost chopped her arm off in the process—and without missing a beat, quickly got back to work. 

Leaning all her weight against the three spikes she’d cut through, Cassandra pushed against the heavy rocks as hard as she could. A moment later, the spikes gave way and toppled into the cage. Two of the three crashed to the ground, but one fell onto the pillar holding Varian in the air and created a pathway to the top.

Cassandra threw another glance at Zhan Tiri, who was still occupied with the stones, before bounding up the spike like a cat up a tree.

Within a few seconds, she’d made it to the top. However, as soon as Cassandra stopped moving, her boots began to lose their grip on the smooth rock, and she started sliding back down. 

Quickly, Cassandra grabbed the lip of the cocoon-like structure encasing Varian and pulled herself back up with a grunt.

The alchemist flinched violently at her sudden appearance beside him. Short puffs of air hissed shallowly through his nose, fogging up the dark surface of his stone gag. Tears were collecting along the edge of the rocks, and the skin around the gag was red and irritated from where it had been chafing.

Cassandra felt another rush of fury roil within her chest, but she pushed it away; now was not the time.

“It’s alright, Varian,” she said instead with another glance at Zhan Tiri. “I’m gonna get you out of there.” 

The Sundrop and Moonstone were still crackling and humming fiercely behind her as Zhan Tiri struggled to keep them apart, but Cassandra turned to face Varian again regardless. 

The alchemist was staring at her pleadingly from the corners of his wide, slightly unfocused, blue eyes, and Varian attempted to shift within the rocks. 

However, he stopped almost immediately with a muffled noise of pain, and Cassandra caught a flicker of movement by her leg. Looking down, she realized his left hand hadn’t yet been encased and was sticking out in all its mangled glory. 

A fresh surge of fury swelled within Cassandra, but again she forced it down before it could take over as it had done so many times in the past. She took a steadying breath and refocused on the task at hand.

“Varian,” she said, and the boy returned his attention to her. “It’s too risky for me to try and cut off your gag ‘cause it’s right by your face and your neck, so you’re just gonna have to slip out when I cut through the edge of this cocoon. But while I’m doing that, you need to stay really still so I don’t accidentally hit you.”

Varian’s already wide eyes widened further with apprehension, but he made a noise of consent nonetheless, and his head shifted slightly as if to nod. 

“Right,” Cassandra murmured after another quick glance at Zhan Tiri.

Keeping one hand on the lip of the cocoon, she flipped her sword hand’s grip around so the point of her weapon was facing downward while her thumb remained on top. After one last shared look with Varian, she raised her arm and pushed the sword down through the top of the black cocoon.

The shadow blade sunk straight through the black rocks, and when Varian didn’t cry out or anything, Cassandra let out the breath she’d been holding. With a little more confidence, she pulled the sword towards herself and created a clean slice in the rocks as she freed the blade. 

She repeated the action a few more times; refitting the sword into the hole she’d created before pulling it back out in a different direction, almost like cutting herself a slice of cake. As the chunks of black rock began falling away and the edge of the cocoon grew thinner, Cassandra’s movements grew more cautious. After a few moments, the rock between her and Varian was only an inch thick. 

Cassandra blew a piece of hair out of her eyes as she regarded the thin wall of black stone. “Okay, Varian, now’s the hard part,” she said moving her gaze to the alchemist. “I’m going to be as careful as I can, but if I hit you, make some sort of noise so I know to stop, okay?”

Varian’s forehead was creased with worry, but his light blue eyes appeared to have finally cleared of their previous haze and were now shining with… trust?

Cassandra was taken aback. Out of all people, she was the one who was the least worthy of his confidence, and yet, somehow… he seemed to trust her.

Was it because she was his only option?

Was it because she came back for him?

Was it because… 

She couldn’t even come up with any more reasons for him to trust her, so why in Sun’s name would he?

Suddenly, Zhan Tiri released a loud grunt of exertion, breaking Cassandra from her thoughts just in time to see the demon successfully pull her wrists away from each other. Zhan Tiri’s arms went flying back, and she stumbled as she attempted to keep her tentacles underneath her.

Cassandra’s breath caught in her throat, and she whipped back around to face the boy in front of her. “Okay, Varian, no time to be careful,” she told him hurriedly. “Scream if I hit something important.”

Varian made an alarmed noise but held still as she quickly lined up her blade before bringing it down in one swift motion. 

Miraculously, Cassandra didn’t hit him, and she repeated the motion once more in another area. The thin slice of rock fell outward and tumbled to the ground with a crash, finally freeing the boy encased within. 

Without missing a beat, Varian used his newfound elbow room to carefully pull his injured hand from the remaining walls of the cocoon. Once it was out, he shimmied downward, gasping as his head was freed from the gag, before wiggling the rest of the way out of the rocks. 

As he straightened, Varian rubbed the lower half of his face with one hand, moving his jaw around to stretch the tender, gradually bruising area. He looked up at Cassandra, his blue eyes brimming with gratitude as well as leftover tears. “Thank—“ he started, but he never got to finish because, at that moment, Cassandra grabbed his arm and half-ran, half-fell back down the spike.

A second later, a great grinding, cracking crash echoed through the clearing as a gigantic black tree branch adorned with numerous sharp golden leaves crushed the pillar they’d just been perched on, smashing it flat into the ground. The earth shook with the force of the blow, sending the pair tumbling the rest of the way to the ground.

“Leaving so soon?” Zhan Tiri asked innocently, a crazed grin splitting her face as the stones pulsed angrily on her wrists.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has nothing to do with the story but has anyone else noticed how weirdly thin Quirin's eyebrows are in that picture of him, Ulla, and baby Varian? No? Just me? Okay, then.
> 
> (Forgot to put this in earlier!😅)  
> The proportions are off bc I got lazy, but this is the drawing I did for this chapter: https://pin.it/6dnVwmO
> 
> Please tell me if you came across any typos, grammatical errors, or plot-holes that I missed!  
> Also, I had a bit of trouble with confusing/weirdly worded sentences while I was editing, so if there was anything that you found confusing, please let me know!


	23. Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “'How are we even supposed to get the stones together?' Eugene asked. 'She’s too strong.'  
> Varian felt an impish grin slide onto his face as the captain’s words sparked an idea.  
> Eugene took an apprehensive step back. 'Uh, kid, maybe wipe that evil smirk off your face?' he said as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. 'We’ve got enough of that going on from Lady Squibottom.'"  
> . . . .  
> “Varian gulped. It looked like the demon was done toying with them, and he wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  
> 'Today,' Zhan Tiri hissed with finality, 'the Sun sets on Corona for good, and I will finally deliver on a promise I made long ago!'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Foreboding music intensifies* 
> 
> Some of the dialogue was taken from _Plus Est En Vous_.

“Varian, look out!”

Varian let out a yelp of surprise as something slammed into him mid-stride, sending him stumbling to the left just as a razor-sharp leaf the size of a horse fell from the Eclipse Tree and thunked into the earth right where he’d been running. 

Stunned, Varian stood there for a moment, staring dumbly at his reflection in the misleadingly beautiful golden rock. 

He’d almost been chopped in half.

That would have been the end of him.

If Cassandra hadn’t pushed him out of the way, he would be dead—

Wait.

Varian spun around. “Cass?” he called, fear coloring his voice before he spotted the woman on her hands and knees a few feet away.

Cassandra looked up. “I’m fine,” she assured him gruffly, wasting no time getting back to her feet. 

A heavy sigh of relief escaped him, and Varian turned to continue running. 

More than just about anything, he could really use some time to think, to process everything. But panic was still permeating his mind like a thick cloud of fog, and his thoughts were like faint, fleeting whispers behind the roar of blood in his ears. With each thud of his racing heart, adrenaline surged through him almost violently, bidding him move faster, dodge quicker, sprint harder.

So, despite how much he desperately wanted to give up and sit down and succumb to the overwhelming chaos around him, Varian kept running.

Zhan Tiri had been chasing them around with hordes of golden spikes—which did absolutely nothing to ease his unabating panic—for what felt like hours. But, on the plus side, the rocks also helped them escape the demon’s line of sight. 

The only problem now was the Eclipse Tree, which had been continuously dropping high-velocity, serrated leaves on top of them and swinging jagged, black branches across the ground. With each swipe, the massive limbs cleared everything in their path, completely upending all the other spikes and carving enormous gouges in the earth.

A hiss of pain sounded behind Varian, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Cassandra stumble, her right leg buckling.

However, before he could do anything, the woman righted herself and resumed running. “I’m fine,” she repeated, grabbing his arm and pulling him along to help him to keep up with her longer strides. 

“But what’s- what’s wrong with your—“ Varian broke off when he caught sight of the dark stain coloring her grey pant leg. “You’re bleeding!” he gasped. His stomach turned at the sight, but he forced down the lightheadedness that tried to creep up on him. Now was not the time to faint; they had much bigger problems, and Cassandra couldn’t carry his unconscious bag of bones with an injured leg.

“It happened earlier,” Cassandra explained tersely. “Right now, focus on _running_.”

Another wave of golden spikes abruptly tore through the ground behind them, and Zhan Tiri shrieked in frustration somewhere off to the right, emphasizing Cassandra’s point.

Suddenly, the distant whinny of a horse sounded near the treeline, and Varian’s head snapped around to see Fidella and Maximus racing toward them with Ruddiger, Rapunzel, and Eugene on their backs. 

“Cass!” Rapunzel called the same time Eugene shouted, “Varian!” The couple’s relief was almost palpable as they sped toward the pair, and Varian’s panic started to ebb slightly, his own relief rushing through him at the sight of their friends.

Cassandra switched directions to meet them, still pulling Varian behind her. But before they could reach them, a giant golden leaf suddenly detached from the Eclipse Tree and plunged toward the grounding, heading straight for Rapunzel and the others.

A fresh wave of fear flooded Varian’s system, and he screamed, “Look out!” his voice cracking from the strain.

Simultaneously, Ruddiger, Rapunzel, and Eugene looked up to see the leaf hurtling toward them. Eugene yanked on Maximus’s reigns, making him skid to a halt as Rapunzel did the same with Fidella. 

The golden leaf hit the ground with a heavy _shunk!_ , its lethal edges sinking several feet into the earth. Fidella whinnied in distress behind the golden rock, having just managed to escape decapitation.

Cassandra and Varian ran the rest of the way over, both breathing heavily as they rounded the leaf. 

To their immeasurable relief, everyone appeared unharmed—shaken, but unharmed. 

Eugene recovered first, clumsily sliding out of the saddle before rushing up to Varian and enveloping him in a warm embrace. 

Varian let out a soft gasp as his sore ribs twinged at the pressure, and Eugene immediately pulled away, holding up his hands in surrender as his brown eyes darkened with worry.

Seeing the look on the man’s face, Varian was quick to reassure him. “No, no, it’s okay. I’m fine,” he said. “I’m just a little sore.”

Eugene didn’t appear mollified and gave him a dubious look. 

Varian adopted what was probably not a very convincing smile and reiterated, “Seriously, Eugene, it’s fine. I was just knocked around a bit, I’m not going to die.” 

The man didn’t say a word; instead, he raised an eyebrow and put his hands on Varian’s shoulders as if to hold him in place while he gave him a thorough once over. 

Under Eugene’s critical eye, Varian was suddenly hyper-aware of his ragged appearance. His once expensive button-down—a gift from Rapunzel—was torn and more brown than white. His belt was askew around his waist, his apron heavily frayed, and the knees of his pants were ripping. Varian also got the distinct, irrational feeling that Eugene could see through his shirt to the colorful array of bruises that were no doubt forming delightful patterns all over his torso. 

And he could only hope that his damp, blotchy face was overlooked as being sweaty and flushed from running.

“I’ll say,” Eugene remarked after a long moment, his tone drier than a desert as he looked back up. Suddenly, his brows knitted together in concern. “Hey, what happened to your face?” he asked, his hands moving to inspect Varian’s bruised jaw.

Varian felt a faint blush rise to his tender, tear-stained cheeks, and he ducked his head, pulling away slightly. “Can we- Can we just say ‘Zhan Tiri happened’, and leave it at that?” he entreated feebly, resisting the urge to circle his jaw around to ease some of the aching stiffness left over from the black rock gag. 

_Eugene said he had faith in you_ , he reminded himself, _don’t make him think you’re too weak to handle it, don’t make him regret it._

Varian felt Cassandra’s gaze boring holes into the back of his head, but thankfully she didn’t say anything. 

Eugene, however, looked like he was about to argue, his face flushing slightly with anger—though Varian knew it wasn’t aimed at him—, but before the captain could say a word, Zhan Tiri’s furious, deranged voice suddenly echoed around the clearing. 

“I grow weary of this game,” the demon snarled, malice dripping from her tone. “You’re only prolonging your own demise.”

The group froze at the sound of her voice; it seemed to come from everywhere at once. 

When no other threats rang out, Varian shook himself and turned to Rapunzel. “Princess,” he called hurriedly, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “What happens if the Sundrop and Moonstone come together?”

“What?” Rapunzel asked, still somewhat distracted with trying to pinpoint Zhan Tiri’s location.

“Before,” Varian explained quickly, keeping his voice quiet for fear of the demon somehow overhearing, “Zhan Tiri brought her wrists near each other at one point, and it was like the stones were magnetized; their reaction to each other’s proximity was extremely powerful. I think that if the stones were to make direct contact with the other, the reaction would destabilize and become volatile, and if I’m right, the resulting explosion should, hypothetically, be large enough to put an end to Zhan Tiri.”

Everyone except Ruddiger stared at him blankly for a second before comprehension gradually dawned on their faces as they absorbed his proposal. Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Eugene shared a brief look before Rapunzel turned back to him. “Well,” she said slowly, “we don’t actually know for certain what will happen if the stones are put together, but…” The princess paused for a moment, her brow creasing in thought before she continued. “But I think you’re probably right. Adira told us back in the Dark Kingdom that she believed it might end badly for whoever puts them together. Like—” Rapunzel imitated the sound of an explosion “—badly.” 

“And she wanted you to reunite them anyways?” Varian asked incredulously before he could stop himself, his eyebrows rising into his hairline.

“Thank you!” Cassandra exclaimed, throwing her hands out toward Varian with a pointed look at the princess.

Eugene scowled in exasperation—though Varian was inclined to believe he secretly agreed with Cassandra—, and Rapunzel shrugged helplessly.

“ _Anyways_ ,” Eugene interjected. “How are we even supposed to get the stones together? She’s too strong. It’s not like we can just ask her to pray or something.”

Varian felt an impish grin slide onto his face as the captain’s words sparked an idea, or rather the memory of a certain story. 

Eugene took an apprehensive step back. “Uh, kid, maybe wipe that evil smirk off your face?” he said as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “We’ve got enough of that going on from Lady Squibottom.” 

It was then that Varian noticed how quiet the clearing was, and the grin fell from his lips as his eyes widened in horror. “Uh, guys? Where’d she go?” he asked, a note of panic creeping into his voice.

The others whipped around, horror also settling over their features. 

Eugene groaned, face-palming.

However, not but two seconds later, Zhan Tiri revealed herself without any prompting as if she’d merely been waiting for them to notice her absence. 

Stepping out of the shadows cast by her enormous tree, the demon loomed over them, malice and pure hatred dripping from her expression—as well as another rush of bodily fluids from her glowing, blue eye-glob. 

Varian gulped. It looked like she was done toying with them, and he wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Today,” Zhan Tiri hissed with finality, “the Sun sets on Corona for good, and I will finally deliver on a promise I made long ago!”

With that proclamation, the demon surged toward them faster than any creature her size had any right to. 

Behind Zhan Tiri, the Eclipse Tree emitted a thundering moan. Its twisting branches all reared back like dozens of snakes preparing to strike, and the scraping rattle coming from its golden leaves only complemented the comparison. With a harsh groan, the Tree pitched forward, and its dark branches shot through the air toward them.

Suddenly, something grabbed the collar of Varian’s shirt, yanking him upward, and he let out a yelp of surprise. Less than a second later, he found himself seated in front of Eugene on Maximus’s saddle. Ruddiger scrambled into Varian’s lap, chattering frantically.

Next to them, Rapunzel and Cassandra both leapt into Fidella’s saddle. 

“Yah!” Eugene shouted, snapping the reins. 

Maximus whinnied before bursting into a sprint in a seemingly random direction with Cassandra, Rapunzel, and Fidella right on his tail. 

“Kid, I don’t know about you, but now would be a good time for that big brain of yours to come up with a brilliant plan—” Eugene broke off with a high-pitched yelp as they all ducked to avoid the massive tentacle trying to flatten them. “Preferably one that will result in our victory,” he finished.

Varian’s mind jumped back to the idea he’d gotten only a minute before. “You remember in the Tales of Flynnigan Rider,” he shouted, raising his voice to be heard over the cacophony of cracking rocks, thundering hooves, and shrieking snarls, “Flynn’s number one rule of combat?”

Varian could practically hear the gears turning in the man’s head as he worked out what Varian was getting at. Finally, Eugene made a noise of comprehension. “Turn your enemy’s strength into a weakness,” he recited. 

“Yup,” Varian affirmed, popping the ‘p’. He turned in the saddle as best he could with his stiff ribs and craned his neck around Eugene’s torso to face the other horse and her riders. 

“Rapunzel! Cass!” he called. 

Instantly, the two women focused on him, and he launched into an explanation of his plan.

<}~~~~~~~~TimeSkip~~~~~~~~{>

“You know,” Varian heard Eugene call up to Zhan Tiri as he and Maximus charged toward the demon. “You could’ve taken the form of a chimp, like your buddy, but, _no_ , you just had to be… whatever that is.” 

Zhan Tiri snarled in response and swiped at the horse and rider with one clawed hand.

Maximus dodged expertly before letting out a taunting whinny. 

Ruddiger chittered at Varian’s feet, and he ducked back down behind the cluster of spikes he was using as his cover. After giving his friend a distracted scratch behind the ear, he returned his attention to the alchemy balls from Rapunzel and Cassandra’s satchels.

Right, so he had two fireballs—one from Cassandra and Rapunzel respectively—, four goo bombs—three from Cassandra and one from Rapunzel—, and a single bath bomb—from Rapunzel’s satchel.

Now, the question was: Why did he always have a bath bomb on him? He’d swear he’d never pack one, and somehow, every day, without fail, he’d still end up with one either in his pocket or his backpack. 

Maybe Ruddiger was pranking him. 

Varian cast a searching look at the raccoon beside him.

But then what happened with the Saporians?

_Focus, Varian_.

Right, right, focus.

Eugene blew a raspberry at Zhan Tiri, and Varian found himself looking back up to see the Captain slash at a random tentacle with his sword.

The demon let out an irritated growl, and the stones on her wrists lit up.

Varian’s heart leapt into his throat, but he needn’t have worried because right then, Maximus executed some sort of spring-flip-thing that should not have been even remotely possible for a horse’s physiology and easily escaped the wave of golden spikes that rushed toward him and Eugene.

Ruddiger chattered insistently at him again, clearly wanting Varian to get back under cover. 

Varian sighed, looking back down at the alchemy laid out before him. 

He didn’t really have anything to do at the moment. Originally, he was going to help Eugene with the distraction, but the captain had flat-out refused, telling him to stay hidden and act as “back-up” instead. 

Varian scoffed under his breath. Eugene said that he had faith in him! And besides, it was his plan, he should be able to do what he wanted!

However, his indignity faded only a second later, and Varian let out a sigh. He understood what Eugene was doing, where his actions were stemming from, and he appreciated it, really he did, but… 

This was his chance to finally be in _control_ again. 

Varian had been in control of too little for too long. Far too long.

Now was the golden opportunity to take it back. Now was the time to finally make his move on Zhan Tiri.

And he guessed that, _technically_ , he was. 

This was his plan, so if it worked— _it had to work_ —, then, _technically_ , he would be making his move. He just… 

Well, as petty—and morbid—as it was, Varian kind of wished he could be the one “dealing the final blow”, so to speak.

Zhan Tiri had been turning his world upside-down and inside-out since the moment she’d manipulated Cassandra into thinking she needed to kidnap him. Was it so wrong to want a little payback?

Varian face-palmed. 

_Yes_ , it was wrong! He knew that! _Sun_ , did he know that! 

Varian shook his head harshly, trying to clear his mind of the entire train of thought.

Beyond his hiding place, Zhan Tiri huffed an amused laugh. “Is this the best Corona has to offer—” Suddenly, she broke off with a startled yelp, and Varian grabbed an alchemy ball reflexively before jerking to his feet just in time to see the demon stumble backward as two thick loops of brown hair appeared around her wrists. 

The hair pulled taut, yanking Zhan Tiri’s arms behind her. Having been caught off guard, the demon was unable to keep her balance, and she fell to the ground with a thunderous, echoing _THUD!_

“Way to go, Sunshine!” Eugene cheered from Maximus’s back as the horse galloped over to the princess. “Oh, and you too, Cassandra,” he added as an afterthought.

Just around Zhan Tiri’s mass of tentacles, Varian caught glimpses of Rapunzel digging her heels into the ground as she pulled on the brown hair with all of her might. On the opposite side of the demon, Cassandra sat astride Fidella while the mare fought to keep her hooves planted firmly in the ground.

“Is it your plan to keep me here forever?” Zhan Tiri asked in an unnervingly calm voice. Her tentacles were still and her muscles relaxed as she chuckled easily.

Varian’s blood ran cold. 

Oh no.

“You may have been a worthy adversary once, Princess,” the demon admitted, a sharp grin slicing across her mouth, “but now you are nothing.”

A creaking moan filled the air, and Varian looked up apprehensively, clenching the alchemy ball tightly in his fist. 

High overhead, the branches of the Eclipse Tree were pulling back, further and further and furth—

With a horrible, grating screech, the black branches flung forward quicker than the eye could follow. Several razor-sharp leaves detached from them and spun through the air like golden throwing knives, and there was a sound akin to that of shearing wool from a sheep followed by multiple heavy thunks. 

Varian could only stand there gaping in shocked silence behind his cluster of spikes as he took in the scene.

A total of five golden leaves were embedded in the ground around the others. Three of them seemed somewhat random in their placement; however, two had hit their mark exactly.

Unbothered, Zhan Tiri stood, letting out a pleased hum as she brushed off the long, severed lock of brown hair strung uselessly between her wrists.

Despite the distance between them, Varian could still hear the strangled cry of dismay that erupted from Rapunzel’s throat as she took in her now twenty-foot length of hair. Next to her, Eugene, still seated in Maximus’s saddle, stared blankly at the dead brown locks as if lost in a memory.

Opposite from the couple, Cassandra threw down the detached rope of hair in her hands and urged Fidella toward Rapunzel.

Suddenly, Ruddiger hissed, and Varian looked down to see the raccoon narrowing his eyes at something to Varian’s left as his hackles rose along his spine.

Varian followed his companion’s gaze only to stumble back as he was hit with a powerful surge of terror. His heart skipped a beat before jumping into a frantic staccato as his hand throbbed in time with the irregular pulse.

Radiating an overpowering aura of triumphant glee, Zhan Tiri stood mere feet away from Varian, drinking in his reaction to their defeat, to their— to _his_ failure.

“I can almost pretend it’s you,” the demon murmured as if speaking to someone who wasn’t there. 

A trickle of bodily fluid oozed from her ruined eye socket.

And her mouth split into a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I remember when I thought chapter 21 was going to be the climax. Silly me! XD 
> 
> And the next chapter's where everything goes to s***t and gets mostly fixed at the same time (in other words, the climax)! I'm so excited! :D   
> (BTW, the next chapter might take a few days to edit 'cause it's super long.)
> 
> Let me know if anything was hard to understand/visualize! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!


	24. Back to Alchemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "’So,’ Zhan Tiri said, snapping Varian‘s attention back to her. ‘Why do you care, Little Demanitus?’ She hissed the name as if it were the most heinous of curses. ‘Why do you care about her? About the woman who kidnapped you? Who hurt you? Who broke her promises time and again?’ The demon sounded genuinely curious, though her tone still held an underlying note of scorn.’  
> . . . .  
> "Cassandra’s heart leapt into her throat as a faint, rasping moan drifted through the air. A million possibilities crowded her mind, but only one made it past her lips.  
> ‘Varian?’ she called fearfully.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!  
> I'm so sorry. 
> 
> (No, I'm not)
> 
> Some of the dialogue was taken from or inspired by _Plus Est En Vous_.

Varian’s feet had been nailed to the floor. 

That was the only explanation for why he couldn’t seem to move. 

Ruddiger’s fur tickled his cheek as the raccoon hissed and spat at the demon from his shoulder. 

Varian’s heart boomed in his skull and his blood thundered in his ears as he tightened his grip on the alchemy ball in his right hand.

Zhan Tiri’s victorious grin cut into him like a serrated knife, ripping through his insides without pity or remorse.

Varian had _failed._

He’d never been in control.

Just like always, Zhan Tiri had proved that he was absolutely powerless against her, that neither brains nor brawn could help them.

As if reading his thoughts, the demon’s smile sharpened into a sneer. “Did you honestly think you could stand up to my power?” she asked, her golden eye glittering with amusement as her blue one shifted in its socket.

Varian didn’t respond. He didn’t breathe. He was too busy suffocating under the weight of his own failure. 

His plan had _failed_. 

_He_ had failed.

He had failed _everyone_.

Rapunzel.

Eugene.

Cassandra.

Ruddiger. 

His dad. 

Eugene said that he had faith in Varian? 

Well, his faith had been sorely misplaced.

Zhan Tiri grinned wider at the despair painted all over his face. She reached forward, her enormous clawed hand opening as if to pick him up and crush him within her fist.

Varian couldn’t move. 

Not willing to leave him, Ruddiger screeched loudly in his ear in an attempt to snap him out of his numb stupor.

But Varian still couldn’t move. His feet had been nailed to the ground, after all.

Suddenly, a panicked cry rent the air.

“Varian!” Cassandra yelled, her voice shot through with terror. The woman charged at Zhan Tiri from out of nowhere, swinging her sword in a powerful arc as she released a fierce battle cry. 

The blade bit deep into the demon’s hand, and Zhan Tiri pulled away with an animalistic snarl, dark blood welling up from the laceration.

Like a staunch guardian, Cassandra planted herself firmly between Varian and the massive demon. Red liquid dripped from her black sword as she faced down Zhan Tiri. 

However, for less than a second, she took her eyes off the enemy to send Varian a tight smile of reassurance. 

And in that smile was the echoes of a broken oath. An oath, Varian realized, she was still trying to keep.

Slowly, tentatively, Varian returned her smile, trying to convey—

All at once, a large black blur filled his vision, and suddenly Cassandra was hurtling through the air, her sword flying out of her hands to thump onto the dirt. 

Zhan Tiri leaned back with a pleased smirk on her face, having just physically smacked the woman away as if she were merely a bothersome fly. 

Someone was screaming, a shrill, agonized, cracking shriek of fear and horror. 

But it wasn’t Cassandra.

“ _Cassie!_ ” 

Several other cries pierced the air as the woman hit the ground hard several meters away and rolled several more before her side smacked into a wide golden spike. On impact, a loud _crack!_ echoed through the air, and Cassandra did not rise again.

Zhan Tiri’s gaze rested on the downed warrior with a look of disdain. “Oh, Cassandra, you’d lost before you even began,” she murmured, looking down and shaking her head exasperatedly before releasing a short laugh. “You really are just like your father,” she said, “even more so than you are like your mother. You simply can’t stand the thought of anyone being better, stronger, than you… Your own lust for power consumes you just as it consumed King Haldur.” 

“Leave her alone!” Varian heard himself shout as his whole body shook with adrenaline, fear, and fury. His right hand was clenched around the alchemy ball so tightly it was a wonder the shell didn’t shatter. Meanwhile, his broken hand twitched as if to form a fist as well, but it only accomplished in sending ripples of agony through the appendage.

He hardly noticed.

The demon glanced at him, surprise coloring her features. “You know what really puzzles me, my dear alchemist?” she said slowly. “Why you _care_.”

Silence reigned for a long, tense moment, but Varian was saved from having to come up with a reply when suddenly Rapunzel, sitting astride Fidella, rushed toward Zhan Tiri. The princess brandished her frying pan with an enraged yell, her remaining twenty feet of hair flying behind her like a battle flag. Not even a second later, Eugene and Maximus shot after her, letting out war cries of their own.

Zhan Tiri looked unimpressed. “You Coronans never know when you’re beaten, do you?” she muttered before huffing out an annoyed sigh.

Looking almost bored, the demon raised an open hand before clenching her fingers together in a tight fist. 

A burst of white light lit up the clearing in response, and Varian quickly shielded his eyes. But the second it faded, he looked up, only for his stomach to drop to his feet. 

Imprisoned in a slightly too small cage of curved golden spikes, the others slowly got back to their feet, rubbing the spots from their eyes. 

Even from where he stood several meters away, Varian could see the exact moment they realized their predicament. 

At finding himself trapped, Maximus let out a loud whinny of anger and started kicking his hooves at the rocks. Likewise, Eugene furiously swung his sword at them. Of course, the man’s weapon shattered on impact with the indestructible rocks, but that didn’t seem to matter to Eugene, who then, without missing a beat, began pounding and pushing on them with his bare hands. 

A flicker of green on Rapunzel’s shoulder caught Varian’s eye before it quickly disappeared. However, Zhan Tiri must have seen it too because the rocks suddenly tightened around the group, leaving only tiny slits between each spike; too small a gap for Pascal to escape through.

“So,” Zhan Tiri said abruptly, snapping Varian‘s attention back to her. “Why do you care, Little Demanitus?” She hissed the name as if it were the most heinous of curses. “Why do you care about her? About the woman who kidnapped you? Who hurt you? Who broke her promises time and again?” The demon sounded genuinely curious, though her tone still held an underlying note of scorn. 

Varian’s heart stuttered within his sore rib cage, and he didn’t respond—or perhaps he simply couldn’t. 

However, it seemed that Zhan Tiri actually wanted to hear his answer, and her thin nostrils flared as her goat-like face twisted with impatience. 

Before he could even process what was happening, Zhan Tiri’s arm shot toward him faster than a viper’s strike, seizing his middle and yanking him into the air. 

The suddenness of the violent jerk wrenched Ruddiger off his shoulders, sending the raccoon tumbling back to the ground where his own golden cage immediately formed around him.

Then without warning, Zhan Tiri’s massive arm abruptly stopped its ascent. However, Varian’s momentum continued trying to pull him forward, and as a result, the air was pushed clear from his lungs, leaving him gasping like a fish out of water.

His mind flashed back to the last time he was in such a position, and his hand throbbed in remembrance of the abuse he’d put it through trying to loosen his dad’s grip. At the time, he hadn’t even noticed the pain, so consumed by panic and the need for _air_ that nothing else mattered—

“I will ask you one more time,” Zhan Tiri snarled, sending Varian’s heart racing like a frightened rabbit. Distantly, he heard the others shouting frantically far below them. “Why do you care about the one who _betrayed your trust_?” 

Her grip tightened around his middle, and he could’ve sworn he actually heard his bones groan beneath the pressure as pain flared through his body.

There was no way this wasn’t karma.

Despite himself, Varian let out a breathless whimper. He went to push at Zhan Tiri’s constricting fingers before suddenly remembering he still had the alchemy ball in his hand, somehow having managed to keep hold of it.

A growl rumbled up from deep in the demon’s chest as she waited for his answer. Her hand squeezed even tighter. 

It felt like he was going to vomit his own guts out, and Varian choked out a gasp. Panic crept through his thoughts, clouding his mind, and before he could think about the consequences of the action, he instinctively shoved at the demon’s fingers as hard as he could.

Unsurprisingly, agony surged through his injured hand, pulling a strangled cry of pain from his throat. 

But agony wasn’t the only consequence of the action. 

In that moment, Varian recognized something extremely random. 

When one’s mind is fogged with panic and desperation, they tend to act before they have the chance to think; instincts take over and suddenly everything else is unimportant. 

He should know, it had happened to him only an hour before. 

When his dad was slowly squeezing the life from him, Varian hadn’t noticed, cared about the pain in his hand, he’d only cared about getting free. He hadn’t thought about the consequences, he’d simply acted on instinct. 

And if he went back further to when he was still a bird, anytime he’d fallen—which, now that he thought about it, had been quite often—, he’d always automatically tried to save himself, flaring out his wings in a desperate attempt to catch the air despite one of them being broken. 

Heck, even when Varian had been consumed by rage and anguish after his dad was encased in the amber, he’d acted instinctively, his sole goal being to make everything stop hurting. 

...And Cassandra had done the same thing. 

She’d felt betrayed and hurt, and when the opportunity to stop hurting presented itself, she’d taken it without a thought. 

And just as he had, the moment she’d come back to her senses, Cassandra started trying to make up for it. 

She’d tried to protect him.

She’d stood between Varian and Zhan Tiri. She’d responded to the threat with no regard for the consequences.

She’d acted on instinct. Only, not to save herself, but to save Varian.

And now she might be… 

All of this ran through Varian’s head in less than a second, and he glanced to the side as if to shy away from his own thoughts. His gaze landed on the alchemy ball he clutched in a death grip. 

And suddenly, that was all his brain needed to begin formulating a new plan. 

However, while his mind flashed through the construction of his latest scheme, a horrible realization struck him, and Varian stopped.

If this plan worked as it was supposed to… he would still be very close to the stones when they made contact… 

Fatally close.

But as he looked up at Zhan Tiri’s mutilated face, her crazed, bloodthirsty, vengeful expression, Varian’s decision was made for him. 

He didn’t have a choice. It was this or the end of Corona and the deaths of everyone he loved.

Varian held onto that thought, clinging tightly to it like it was his only lifeline—the irony in that didn’t escape him. His expression hardened with resolve as his pounding heart calmed, slowing with acceptance… as if in preparation for the unavoidable outcome of his plan. 

It was his turn to take back control.

Glaring up at the source of all his pain, Varian spoke in the steadiest voice he could muster. “I care,” he said, ”because Cassandra never meant to hurt me, she never meant to break her oath... I care because she’s- she’s my friend, and she was hurting, and it wasn’t her fault… And- And she’s trying to make it up to me, she’s trying to fix her mistakes.” 

Zhan Tiri’s grip got tighter and tighter with every word he uttered, and eventually, Varian was forced to break off with a groan, falling forward slightly as the waves of pain rolling through him doubled in their intensity.

He guessed if there was one thing to be grateful for, it was that the demon’s hand was squeezing him just below his ribs, so he could still breathe somewhat normally.

Although that wasn’t to say the feeling of being one step away from vomiting his own guts out was a pleasant one, nor was the ominous creaking of the bones in his hips and legs. 

Regardless, Varian gritted his teeth and clenched the alchemy ball harder within his fist, pushing the pain to the furthest corners of his mind. He tilted his head up to look back at Zhan Tiri and attempted to get in one final statement. “I got—” Immediately, he was forced to break off with a humiliatingly pathetic whine as the demon’s grip tightened still. Panting shallowly, he made himself finish. “I got a second chance… d-despite everything I’d… done,” he gasped haltingly. “S-So why shouldn’t she?”

Zhan Tiri’s lip curled into a derisive sneer, scorn dripping from her features. She went to respond, but before she could, bright pink goo suddenly exploded over her face, cementing her mouth shut and covering her thin nostrils.

Varian’s now empty hand fell back to his side, his ribs twinging painfully from the abrupt, forceful motion of throwing the alchemy ball.

Surprise flashed across Zhan Tiri’s face before quickly being replaced with panic as she realized she couldn’t breathe.

Just as Varian had predicted, even demons were subject to their instincts, and Zhan Tiri’s clawed hands immediately flew to her mouth to pull at the goo, dropping him in the process

The wind screamed in Varian’s ears as he plummeted to the ground, but it may as well have been a distant whisper for all he took notice of it. 

His entire attention was glued to Zhan Tiri. 

With both hands, the demon managed to tear some of the tough slime from her face, allowing her to suck in a breath.

But the damage had already been done, and Zhan Tiri realized her mistake a moment too late.

Because after centuries of separation, the Sundrop and Moonstone had been reunited at last. 

With a thunderous, thrumming crackle that sounded almost triumphant, the two stones instantly went supernova, and an ear-splitting scream erupted from Zhan Tiri’s throat.

A blinding explosion of blue and gold surged from the demon’s wrists, and Varian squeezed his eyes shut; however, the action was proven futile as the dazzling light continued searing his retinas through his eyelids. 

Alternating waves of blistering heat and biting cold slammed into Varian with the strength of a ten-tonne automaton, and he felt the force of the explosion interrupt his downward freefall to blast him backward through the air.

Although, in spite of the chaos and his… impending demise, Varian felt… Not necessarily at peace—he didn’t _want_ to die—, but rather, he felt almost… proud of himself. 

His plan had actually worked. After everything, he’d finally managed to take back control, and everyone would be safer for it.

So as he hurtled toward the earth, Varian thought that perhaps Eugene’s faith hadn’t been misplaced after all. 

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Cassandra woke to the feeling of falling.

Confused, she cracked her eyes open before immediately slamming them shut again as an explosion of blinding light bombarded her vision. 

However, in the brief glimpse she got, she found that she was indeed falling— Well, more like just being blown backward across the ground as all the golden spikes around her disintegrated.

Wait, what?

Keeping her eyes shut—though it didn’t do much to stop the light—, Cassandra started to flail her arms around, only to stop when a sharp, piercing bolt of agony shot through her left arm. 

She’d broken more than a few bones in her lifetime, but, holy hell, it never got easier. 

Finally, the blast started dying down, and Cassandra hit the ground in a tangle of limbs. Eventually, her momentum slowed to a stop, and she laid on her back, breathing heavily. Her whole body ached horribly, and the cut on her leg was smarting; it probably had all sorts of debris in it from the explosion, meaning it was going to get infected if it wasn’t already. 

And her arm was a whole other story that she was trying to ignore.

After a moment, the pain leveled out to a more manageable degree, and Cassandra opened her eyes. Clumsily, she propped herself up on one elbow, keeping her definitely broken arm close to her chest, and slowly looked around with bleary eyes.

It took her four full seconds to comprehend what she was seeing. 

The rocks were gone. 

The tree was gone.

Zhan Tiri was… gone. 

In the demon’s place, a flickering ball of light hovered in the air, swirling and flaring with bright flashes of blue and gold. 

_The stones,_ , Cassandra realized—or rather, “Stone”, as they appeared to have combined and were now surrounded by a bright, dazzling aura of light. _The others must’ve managed to bring them together._

It was honestly very beautiful, utterly mesmerizing, but Cassandra felt as though she were in a daze—like, she thought she understood what happened for the most part, but it didn’t seem to be sinking in. So her eyes drifted away from the dazzling Stone to resume taking in her surroundings.

Piles of debris littered the clearing, familiar remnants of Rapunzel’s tower once again unearthed without black or gold rocks burying them. On the other side of the ball of light, Cassandra managed to make out the familiar figures of two humans and two horses.

Stumbling gracelessly, she got to her feet. Her arm throbbed as she continued scanning the area, and a headache pulsed at the back of her skull, leading her to think that she must’ve hit her head at some point. The last thing she remembered was—

_”Cassie!”_

Cassandra’s gaze snapped back to the figures across the clearing. 

The first human silhouette was dragging an excessive amount of hair behind them, marking Rapunzel’s presence, and the second was sporting an obnoxiously bright red jacket, marking Eugene’s presence. They both leaned over a lump on the ground, and Eugene put out a hand. The lump moved in response, reaching out to grasp the offered arm and revealing to Cassandra that it wasn’t a lump at all, but rather, a person. 

Eugene leaned back, pulling the other person to their feet. And judging by their large, hulking frame, it was Quirin. 

Suddenly, a small streak of grey caught her eye, and she watched Ruddiger race toward the group. 

The raccoon scrambled onto Quirin’s shoulders as the man walked behind a pile of rubble and out of her line of sight. However, not a second later, he rushed back out with two grey oblong rocks in his hands. 

Quirin stopped in front of Rapunzel, Eugene, and the horses, his mouth moving frantically, before all of them spun around, looking for something.

From where she stood across the clearing, Cassandra could only just make out their faint shouts. “Cassandra? Varian?” they called, their distant voices clearly panicked.

Cassandra’s blood turned to ice, and she stumbled slightly, whipping her head this way and that as she opened her mouth to call for Varian as well—

Something crunched under her foot, and Cassandra went still, her heart thumping hard in her chest. Fear and apprehension conjured up horrible, gruesome possibilities within her mind’s eye.

The Stone flared behind her—Had it always been that close?—, the bright light catching the corner of her eye almost annoyingly.

Holding her breath, Cassandra looked down… 

And heaved a sigh of relief when she realized it was not in fact a human body part or anything of the sort; rather, it was a small, framed circle of glass.

Suddenly overcome by the urge to pick it up, Cassandra bent down. Her arm throbbed at the movement, and a quiet hiss of pain slipped past her lips, but she pushed her discomfort aside as her gloved finger brushed against the clear, cracked surface before going still. 

Staring up at her like a pair of fractured eyes, was not one, but _two_ framed circles of glass.

An odd feeling seized Cassandra as she took in the broken discs. Without warning, she fell to her knees and began clawing at the ground with one hand, heedless of the sharp little rocks jabbing her fingers through her gloves. Bit by bit, she gradually unearthed a familiar pair of goggles.

Pulling them the rest of the way out of the ground, Cassandra’s breath caught in her throat, and the odd feeling intensified.

The glowing Stone behind her flashed again, and the light reflected off the broken lenses, momentarily blinding her. 

The serrated edge of the jagged hole in the left lens almost sliced through her glove as she fumbled with the goggles. The leather nose piece had snapped clean in half so that the two sides of the frame were only connected by the head strap, which was hanging on by a literal thread. Cracks spiderwebbed across the right lens from where she’d stepped on it, accenting the ones that had already been there, and the frame was heavily dented. Little bits of debris had also embedded themselves in the worn leather, giving it a speckled appearance.

Cassandra’s heart twisted painfully in her chest.

After Varian had found the goggles in the debris outside her tower, she’d stowed them away in her room. Why? At the time, she hadn’t known. Maybe to sneak them into Old Corona and leave them for Quirin to find. Maybe to give them to Rapunzel and Eugene the next time she encountered them. Maybe to give them back to Varian herself once he’d been “found”. 

_“I took her goggles from her things after she disappeared.”_

Cassandra choked as the words arose in her mind. Varian loved these goggles, they were all he had left of his mother. 

And they’d been destroyed. 

Abruptly, a faint noise snapped Cassandra back to the present, and she tilted her head, listening as her brow creased in concentration. Slowly, she got to her feet, clenching the goggles in her hands as her broken arm throbbed and the cut on her leg stung. 

The Stone flickered, distracting her for a second before she managed to catch the noise again.

Cassandra’s heart leapt into her throat as a faint, rasping moan drifted through the air. A million possibilities crowded her mind, but only one made it past her lips.

“Varian?” she called fearfully. 

All she got was another moan. 

Breath stuttering in her lungs, Cassandra crept in the general direction of the sound, dread and anxiety ratcheting up another notch as a third moan floated toward her. 

She quickened her pace, ignoring the pain in her arm and leg when she stumbled on a loose rock. Gripping the goggles tighter, Cassandra’s head swiveled from side to side as she searched frantically for any sign of the alchemist among the rubble. 

“Varian?” she called again, her voice cracking and wobbling pathetically.

A wheezing cough sounded to her right, and Cassandra spun on her heel, scanning for the boy. A sizable pile of debris caught her eye, and she rushed toward it, closing the distance in three quick strides.

“Varian?” she repeated more than a little desperately, dropping into a crouch next to the large wooden beam that lay across the center of the mound

Something shifted beneath the beam, and a soft, surprisingly close groan drifted up to Cassandra, nearly scaring her half out of her wits. 

The glowing Stone—Was it following her?—fulgurated in the corner of her eye, and she felt a flicker of irritation at the distracting flashes of blue and gold.

Again the rubble shifted slightly, recapturing her attention, and Cassandra caught sight of a dull, dusty streak of blue amidst a head of dirty raven hair. Everything else, it seemed, was buried beneath the rubble.

“Varian!” Cassandra exclaimed as her stomach dropped to her feet, and the void it left was instantly filled with an icy pit of dread. Setting the goggles down beside the mound, she started trying to unearth the rest of the boy’s head. 

After a second of scrabbling uselessly, Cassandra quickly decided that one hand wasn’t going to cut it. So, completely disregarding the broken state of her left arm, she started using both hands to dig through the rubble. 

Another strangled moan came from beneath the debris before tapering off into a whimper.

Cassandra’s heart clenched at the sound, and she dug faster, pushing the white-hot pain in her arm to the very back of her mind. 

After several long, excruciatingly slow seconds filled with only the sounds of clattering rocks and weak groans, the rest of Varian’s head came into view along with his right arm. The heavy wooden beam lay diagonally across his torso, going from his right hip to his left shoulder and keeping him firmly pinned to the ground. The rest of his body was still buried beneath all the debris that had built up around the board. 

Varian’s eyes were squeezed shut, his breathing coming in soft, shallow wheezes that made something rattle in his chest. Bruises were littered all over his dirty face, ranging from sickly yellow to dark purple, and his expression was twisted into a heart-wrenching grimace of pain. 

Cassandra choked. “Varian?” 

It felt like that was the only thing she could say. 

Varian didn’t respond, he just continued wheezing and groaning as his lungs stuttered ominously.

Cassandra’s stomach clenched with fear, and her heart thumped harder. 

“Varian,” she said again, her desperate voice breaking and wavering uncontrollably. “Varian, please, wake up.”

The alchemist let out another moan before cracking open one dull, unfocused eye. 

The relief that surged through Cassandra almost knocked her over, and her shoulders slumped with relief as her arm throbbed reproachfully. “Varian, are you— How— What- What happened?” she finally settled on asking.

Varian’s other eye opened, and his light blue gaze slowly drifted toward her face. 

A beat of silence passed before some of the cloudiness cleared, and he managed to focus on her.

“Cass—” He began only to cut himself off with a whimper of pain. 

“Here, no, wait, don’t talk,” Cassandra interjected quickly, changing tactics. She turned toward the wooden beam lying across his torso. “Let me get this off you first.”

Moving as swiftly as she could, Cassandra went to the side of the board that ended by Varian’s shoulder and wedged her fingers underneath it. Bending over, she squatted down before pushing up with her knees.

Without warning, her broken arm screamed in protest and the cut on her calf pulled sharply, making her drop the board with a cry of pain—not that she had even managed to lift it in the first place. 

Varian’s still slightly glazed eyes followed her, but he didn’t appear to be fully processing anything. The Stone flashed on the other side of him, and Cassandra couldn’t stop herself from throwing it a frustrated glare as blue and gold dots briefly danced across her vision.

Panting, she didn’t even wait for the pain to go down before trying again.

And again.

And again.

It was like she’d been possessed, consumed by the burning need to move the beam, to get it off, to free Varian. 

Finally, the wooden board shifted, and Cassandra felt a spark of triumph.

Which was quickly doused when Varian screamed.

Or at least it sounded like he was trying to scream. All that came out of his mouth was a high-pitched, strangled whine followed by a fit of wet coughs.

Cassandra immediately released the beam, stumbling backward as her heart tried to bust a hole through her rib cage. 

Varian gasped weakly and looked at her with light blue eyes that were suddenly very bright with a combination of pain, sorrow, and acceptance. “Cassandra,” he said faintly, his voice tight with agony. 

Despite herself, Cassandra ignored him, running her fingers through her hair as she shifted agitatedly from foot to foot. “Don’t worry, Varian,” she told him. “I’ll get you out. I will.”

Varian just continued gazing at her sadly, his uneven breaths rattling harshly from his lungs. “Cass,” he repeated, and something in Cassandra’s chest broke at how weak and thready he sounded.

“No. No, no, I— No,” she stammered, half-hoping that maybe if she said it enough, denied it enough, then the details she’d been persistently ignoring would disappear.

But Varian’s deathly pallor didn’t go away. 

Neither did the blood on his blue-tinged lips.

Nor the way his rib cage was caving in beneath the weight of the wooden beam.

Cassandra’s breath hitched. “Varian,” she pleaded, her heart clenching and twisting and writhing within her chest.

“Cassie...” Varian trailed off as his speech began to slur.

Hot tears pricked Cassandra’s eyes, and her throat tightened. She fell heavily to her knees beside the young alchemist’s head. 

“Varian, please,” she tried, as if begging would change the outcome she was still attempting to deny. “I- I made an oath, I was supposed to- to protect you! I can’t do that if you’re- if you’re—“ Cassandra choked on the word, unable to say it. 

The tears spilled over hot and fast, streaming down her dirty cheeks and carving harsh lines across her face. 

“I—“ Cassandra gulped, suddenly finding it hard to catch her breath. “I know I broke my oath,” she said, her voice cracking and wobbling, “but I- I’m still trying! I swore I would make it up to you, and I will! Just- Just give me another chance! Just one more chance to fix this! Please!” Distantly, she heard more shouting from across the clearing, but it hardly registered.

A wet, rattling cough bubbled up from Varian’s lips, spraying droplets of blood into the air. Varian squeezed his eyes shut, his dirty face contorting with pain, and a hoarse whine escaped his throat. 

Spurred on by the heart-wrenching noise, Cassandra moved to the board again. It was the only thing she could think to do; she wasn’t a doctor, she was a warrior. She had to—

Before she could stand, however, something clasped loosely around her wrist, and Cassandra stopped. 

Looking down, she was met with Varian’s pleading gaze. 

“Cassie…” he rasped weakly, his breath popping and rattling in his throat. “Please, just… Please, listen.”

Feeling strangely cornered, Cassandra went to protest. “Varian, I need to- I need to get this beam off you. I—”

Another wet cough burst from Varian’s mouth, and Cassandra cut herself off. Sniffing, she took a shaky breath and decided… decided it was time she listened.

The alchemist’s eyes drifted in and out of focus as he attempted to look at her tear-stained face. “Cass…” he slurred. “Cassie, it’s… okay. It’s not your f-fault.”

Pressing her knuckles to her lips to hold in a sob, Cassandra reluctantly returned to her previous position beside Varian’s head and clasped his trembling hand tightly in hers. “Vari- Varian, I swore that I wouldn’t hurt—”

“And you didn’t,” Varian interrupted, another bloody cough falling from his lips. He dragged in a ragged breath, the ghost of a smile crossing his face as he appeared to recall something. “You protected me... You s-saved me…” 

“But—” 

“Cass…ssie,” Varian continued, unaware of her attempt to speak as his light blue eyes went hazy again. “Tell my dad— Tell him it wasn’t- wasn’t his… fault.” 

Cassandra could do nothing to stop the fresh wave of tears soaking her cheeks, and she didn’t bother trying. “Varian, please…” she all but whimpered.

The alchemist’s eyes refocused a little, and he gazed at her imploringly. “None of…” Varian broke off with a feeble cough, bright red blood spattering across his lips. The boy pulled in another shallow, wheezing breath before trying again. “None of this was your… f-fault either.” 

“But my oath, I—”

Varian let out a soft, wet laugh, a weak smile tugging at the corner of his bloody lips. “You can consider... consider your oath f-fulfilled.” 

Cassandra didn’t return his smile, and instead, her heart proceeded to twist violently in her chest. 

Varian’s eyes drifted dully toward the sky before a faint flicker of wonderment cleared them for a moment. 

“Ya know,” he whispered regretfully. “I-I’d really been... hoping to st-study the eclipse, bu—” Varian cut himself off as he broke into a small fit of coughs. After a minute, they subsided, and he continued, his voice even weaker than before. “But I guess I can… I can still appreciate it… without knowing all the… the s-science behind it.”

Cassandra followed his gaze to see the sun beaming cheerily beside the moon in a pleasant blue sky. 

The eclipse had passed.

“Cass- Cassie?” Varian said softly, snapping her attention back to him in an instant. 

She gripped his hand tighter, tears never slowing. “Y-Yeah?” 

He stared deeply into her eyes, hazy light blue somehow piercing straight through watery hazel green. 

Randomly, Cassandra noticed that he wasn’t crying; his face was dry of tears, a jarring contrast to hers. 

Suddenly, Varian’s whole body seemed to shudder beneath the rubble, and he closed his eyes as an agonized moan forced its way between his gritted teeth. 

Cassandra felt sobs begin to build up in her throat as she watched Varian suffer, her own helplessness making her sick to her stomach. 

After a few seconds, Varian brought his clouded gaze back to her and whispered almost urgently, “It wasn’t your fault, Cassie, I—” Another violent tremor racked the alchemist’s half-buried body, and a harsh, rattling cough exploded from his mouth, spraying red into the air. 

Cassandra hugged Varian’s hand tightly to her chest. She wanted to say something, anything, but the words seemed to get stuck behind the sobs she had yet to release. 

By some miracle, Varian managed to catch his breath again, and he resumed trying to speak. “It wasn’t your f… fault,” he repeated, and Cassandra knew he wasn’t just talking about the present. “You’re…. m-my friend, and I…. forgive….. forgive y-you.”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

Having said all he needed to say, Varian allowed his eyes to drift from Cassandra’s blurry figure. 

It all felt so sudden, so utterly—almost hilariously—random. He was only sixteen for Demanitus’s sake! He wasn’t ready to die!

He didn’t regret it, though. He’d made his choice, and it was a fair trade: his life for the lives of everyone in the kingdom. An easy decision, really.

Varian just wished he could see his dad and Ruddiger and Eugene and Rapunzel one more time… 

Just one more time... 

So he could tell them all how much they meant to him… 

The world was quickly growing dimmer and dimmer around Varian, and suddenly, he found himself seized by another fit of agony. But despite the pain, the horrible racking, rippling pain, his eyes remained dry. After all, he had nothing to cry about; he would be leaving all the pain behind soon. And anyway, enough of his tears had been shed already, he refused to shed any more.

Everything around Varian was slowly dimming, falling away piece by piece, bit by bit, molecule by molecule… until only two things remained.

Varian sucked in a shallow gasp of awe as the Sun and Moon met his hazy gaze. Their faces were impassive as they watched him; however, their eyes were sad and, dare he say it, _regretful_.

The longer they stared at him and he at them, the heavier Varian felt his body become. Gradually, a sweet, blissful nothingness began creeping through his limbs, and all of the pain tormenting him finally faded away. 

Casting the Sun and Moon a faint, grateful smile, Varian relaxed with a sigh of relief.

His chest did not rise again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BEFORE YOU KILL ME...  
> Yes, this is the cliffhanger I’ve been not-so-subtly hinting at for the past 20 chapters.  
> And yes, Varian is dead.
> 
> BUT (I'm just gonna go ahead and give you this b/c I feel kinda guilty (not) for leaving you on this cliffhanger) Varian does not stay dead!  
> I promised you all a happy ending, and (unlike some fictional characters) I'm keeping that promise. 
> 
> Anyways, sorry if the death seemed really random and abrupt. Believe it or not, this was actually the plan from like day 2, so it wasn’t a last minute idea.  
> I feel like a lot of the time death is usually really sudden (at least in younger people’s cases), so I was trying to “channel” that, if you get my meaning.
> 
> I’m going to try and update as soon as possible!
> 
> Please, let me know your thoughts as well as any grammatical/continuity errors you noticed!


	25. The Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Quirin’s breath caught as the glow suddenly flickered and died, and he realized he was staring at the two cracked halves of the Mind Trap.  
> As if a dam had been broken, it all came rushing back.  
> Headache forgotten, he spun around to face the others.  
> 'Where’s Varian?'"  
> . . . .  
> "Rapunzel gasped, clutching her hair as she took in the united Sundrop and Moonstone. The moisture painting her cheeks glistened with the reflected light from the Stone.  
> As if in a trance, Cassandra watched Rapunzel’s golden-tinted tears drip down her chin.  
> She turned back to the glowing Stone.  
> Glanced at Rapunzel.  
> Back to the Stone.  
> And decided it was worth the risk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I didn't mean to make you all wait this long for such a short update! My concussion from November still hasn't completely gone away, but the doctor said it's been long enough that I can go back to sports without making anything worse, so I've been busy trying to catch up with my teammates.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING!  
> Brief descriptions of vomit & a corpse
> 
> Alright, so I gotta dish out the obligatory angsty reactions, and then we can get into fixing things next chapter!

Decades seemed to pass while Quirin struggled against the mist. 

Like some great, otherworldly entity, the pale blue haze filled his mind, shrouding his thoughts and slowing his reflexes. But still, he resisted it.

The mist, however, would not relent no matter what he did. Always, it swirled away at the last second before settling and creeping back once more. 

It was taunting him.

Quirin recoiled as the ghostly vapor brushed against his skin, sending tingling shocks of icy cold jolting through him from the point of contact. He swiped at the blue mist in retaliation, only for it to swirl away. Again. 

This infuriating game of cat and mouse continued on for what felt like centuries, with Quirin never quite managing to gain any ground and the mist always briefly grazing his skin before whisking away and leaving him to deal with the freezing aftereffects. 

Truthfully, Quirin had no idea what exactly he was fighting or why he was fighting at all; he only knew that, gradually, bit by bit, his defenses were weakening. He was losing.

_“Dad? What- What are you doing? Dad, let go! S-Stop!”_

Panic jolted through him at the fear in his son’s voice, and he instinctively went to call out for Varian.

But then, the pale blue mist pounced.

And Quirin was lost within the haze.

. . . . .

“...Quirin?”

“Quirin… Are you all right?”

Two worried voices slowly filtered into Quirin’s ears, pulling him back to the waking world. 

He groaned at the pounding headache behind his eyes as he forced them open. 

Princess Rapunzel and Captain Fitzherbert stood over him, both looking simultaneously concerned and wary. 

“How do you feel, Quirin?” Rapunzel asked, her green eyes sparkling with cautious worry. 

Well, Quirin’s mouth felt like it was full of cotton, and his head felt like it had been used as an anvil for a blacksmith’s apprentice. He groaned again, moving to massage his temples only to discover his arms were restrained at his sides.

Confused, he glanced down his torso to see himself completely cocooned in vaguely familiar bright pink goo. 

Looking back up at the princess and the captain, Quirin forced his leaden tongue to form words. “Wha’ happ’nd?” he asked thickly. 

The two shared a glance before looking back at him apologetically. “It was a precaution,” Eugene replied evasively as he turned to the pair of horses that Quirin had just noticed standing behind them. The captain reached into Maximus’s saddlebag and pulled out a small ball before tossing it onto the goo enveloping Quirin.

With a quiet fizzing noise, the tough slime dissolved, and Quirin was free to squeeze his pounding head as hard as he wanted.

After a moment, he returned his gaze to the people standing over him, and Eugene offered a hand, which he gladly accepted.

Once Quirin was back on his feet, he looked around at the heaping mounds of rubble surrounding them, his dazed mind slow to take it in. 

A chitter sounded somewhere behind him, and Quirin glanced over his shoulder. 

Without warning, Ruddiger suddenly leapt into his arms from out of nowhere. The raccoon scurried around his torso, chattering agitatedly as his small dark eyes glittered with fear and desperation.

Abruptly, something small, blue, and faintly glowing caught Quirin’s eye, distracting him from the rodent, and his brow furrowed as he stumbled toward the object. Bending over for a closer inspection, it took his still slightly out of it brain a second to comprehend that he was actually looking at two glowing rocks. 

Cautiously, he nudged one of the oblong stones with a gloved finger, and it shifted to reveal half of a very familiar symbol. 

Quirin’s breath caught as the glow suddenly flickered and died, and he realized he was staring at the two cracked halves of the Mind Trap. 

As if a dam had been broken, it all came rushing back.

Headache forgotten, he spun around to face the others. 

“Where’s Varian?”

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

A million thoughts raced through Cassandra’s mind all at once, but every single one of them was absolutely meaningless.

_Your fault!_

_Varian—_

_No—_

_He called me his friend—_

_He forgives me—_

_**Your fault!** _

_He’s so pale—_

_What happened—_

_Why did he forgive me—_

_**YOUR FAULT!** _

_His hand is cold—_

_How could he forgive me—_

_**YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT!** _

_Why are his eyes so dull—_

_**YOURFAULT!YOURFAULT!YOURFAULT!YOURFAULT!YOURFAULT!** _

“Varian?” Cassandra asked hoarsely, her voice no louder than a whisper. The sobs were still stuck fast in her throat, making it tight and painful.

He didn’t answer. 

“Varian?” she repeated, squeezing his hand harder as if the pressure would bring it back to lif— 

Cassandra choked.

“Varian?” 

The young alchemist’s light blue eyes continued staring lifelessly at the sky. 

“N-No…” she whimpered pathetically. “Varian, you can’t- you can’t just leave…” 

Cassandra swallowed painfully around the built-up sobs and pressed Varian’s limp hand to her forehead, his cold skin shocking her warm face. 

_He’s so still— He’s so quiet— Why is he so still— He’s too still— Too quiet— He’s not supposed to be so still—_

As if a switch had been flipped, denial surged through her in the form of a powerful, relentless wave of anger. 

Cassandra’s breath stuttered, and her lip curled in a snarl. “Varian! Wake up!” she ordered, releasing his pale hand to roughly shake his shoulder. “You’re not leaving! I won’t let you!”

The blue and gold Stone flashed in front of Cassandra, reminding her of its presence. 

She ignored it, and instead growled, “This is not how it ends!” 

Her arm throbbed painfully as she continued shaking Varian, but still, he wouldn’t respond. 

So she shook him harder, adding threats and curses to her near-hysterical demands.

Suddenly, the heavy wooden beam pinning Varian to the ground shifted, and something _crunched_ horrifically.

Cassandra recoiled as if she’d been burned, and not even a second later, bile crawled up her tight throat. 

As if on cue, the sobs burst free, and Cassandra threw herself to the side, bracing herself over the ground with her unbroken arm as she began heaving into the dirt.

There wasn’t much in her stomach, only the castle dinner rolls she’d eaten a lifetime ago and the brief snack they’d had at Varian’s—

Cassandra retched again and nearly choked on her own vomit as a sob attempted to force its way out at the same time. 

When she was finally finished heaving her guts, Cassandra pushed herself away from the puddle of bile, gasping for air. Tears poured down her face, dripping off her chin to plink onto the rubble below while sobs continued tearing themselves ruthlessly from her burning throat. 

Her hoarse, strained voice echoed around the clearing, bouncing off the mounds of wreckage and folding over itself. The chorus of hitching sobs and incoherent words spilling from her mouth combined to create a sick symphony of sorrow in which she was the unwilling musician and the sky her pitiless audience. 

Cassandra couldn’t bring herself to look back at Varian, couldn’t bring herself to stare into his lifeless face and empty eyes. 

Instead, her tear-blurred gaze caught on the glowing Stone still floating serenely on the other side of the debris pile. 

It flashed at her, and the blue and gold light briefly reflected off the goggles lying forgotten beside the rubble. 

Numbly, Cassandra reached over to them, sobs still falling from her lips just as surely as the teardrops falling from her eyes. 

“Cassandra!” 

Rapunzel’s shout came out of nowhere, and Cassandra fell back, clutching the goggles to her chest as she struggled to her feet. Her calf stung slightly at the movement, but it was hardly noticed.

The princess, Eugene, Quirin, and the animals were all rushing toward her, having seemingly either spotted her or heard her. 

Cassandra didn’t respond to Rapunzel’s call, she merely stared at the approaching group uncomprehendingly. Her teary gaze fell on Quirin, and her lungs faltered again. 

How was she going to tell him? What could she say? She hardly knew what happened herself.

With a start, Cassandra was reminded of Quirin’s promise that he would make her pay if Varian got hurt.

Surprisingly, she found she didn’t necessarily care. She couldn’t protect Varian when it counted; whatever happened next, she would deserve.

As the others drew nearer, they quickened their pace, no doubt beginning to make out her red face and wet cheeks. 

Cassandra’s feet were rooted the ground; she could do nothing but watch as—

Brown hair filled her vision as she was unexpectedly enveloped in a warm hug that was perhaps a bit too tight on her broken arm.

A hoarse, involuntary gasp of pain escaped Cassandra, and Rapunzel immediately let go.

“What—” the princess began before a sudden, frighteningly animalistic cry of horror resonated through the clearing.

Cassandra didn’t turn around as Quirin hauled the heavy wooden beam off of Varian and heaved it to the side. The crunch of rubble echoed in her ears as the father fell to his knees before his son— 

The Stone flashed on the edge of Cassandra’s vision, seeming almost impatient about something. 

A spark of anger and annoyance coursed through Cassandra, and she snapped toward it with a scowl on her face; however, the spark quickly died out when she caught sight of the others.

Quirin was hunched over Varian, his broad shoulders shaking with grief as he buried his face in his son’s ruined shirt. Whispered pleas and promises filled the air in between the harsh, grating sobs that ripped themselves mercilessly from the man’s mouth. 

It was a jarring sight. To see Quirin, the wise warrior, the humble farmer, the loving father, the great, unshakeable mountain of a man reduced to a weeping mess. 

Ruddiger paced next to Varian’s head, chattering and cooing in an attempt to coax a response from his boy. After a moment, the raccoon stopped and crouched beside Varian’s cheek. He nuzzled the alchemist’s face before leaning back expectantly. When he got no response, Ruddiger tried again, this time, also pawing at Varian’s nose and whining. 

Varian’s head shifted slightly from the pawing, and Cassandra’s heart broke as she watched Ruddiger’s eyes light up in response. However, when nothing more happened, the light faded, and the raccoon let out a whimper that quickly morphed into a loud, pitiful cry of grief before nosing his way under Quirin’s arm so he could curl up against his boy’s side.

“Maybe I could...” Rapunzel started, stepping forward and holding out her brown hair. A steady stream of tears streaked down the princess’s dirty face, and her green eyes were shining dully with halfhearted hope. 

“Rapunzel…” Eugene murmured from where he stood a few feet behind Quirin. The captain hadn’t taken his eyes off Varian‘s slack face, and tears of his own were silently pouring down his cheeks. 

Rapunzel tried to protest, but it seemed even the former Sundrop had already lost whatever hope she may have been clinging onto. The princess’s face twisted with grief, and she broke down, stumbling into Eugene’s waiting arms and burying her face in her fiancé’s chest. The princess’s sobs mingled with Quirin’s as they rose and fell through the clearing. 

Cassandra’s arm throbbed, and she hunched in on herself, unable to tear her eyes from the scene. 

The Stone flared again, brighter and more insistently this time, and Cassandra whipped toward it with a snarl. 

Rapunzel and Eugene started at the flash, apparently having just noticed its presence. Quirin didn’t move from his place over Varian, too consumed by his grief to pay any heed to the rest of the world.

Rapunzel gasped, clutching her hair reflexively as she took in the united Sundrop and Moonstone. The moisture painting her cheeks glistened with the reflected light from the Stone. 

As if in a trance, Cassandra watched Rapunzel’s golden-tinted tears drip down her chin.

She turned back to the glowing Stone.

Glanced at Rapunzel.

Back to the Stone. 

And decided it was worth the risk.

In a single bound, Cassandra leapt forward, pushed her hand through the aura of blue and gold light, and wrapped her fingers around the glowing Stone.

….Silence.

Everything was silent.

Cassandra could still see the others shouting, could see their mouths moving as their expressions twisted with horror, but everything was quiet. Gold and blue light streaked distractingly across her vision, but she fixed her gaze firmly on Varian’s lifeless body.

The Stone pulsed angrily in her grip; however, Cassandra only gritted her teeth and began reciting the incantation she’d heard Rapunzel talk about so many times before.

“ _Flower… g-gleam and… glow…_ ”

Her voice echoed pitifully in the silence, small and strained and pathetic, while the Stone throbbed within her fist, sending painful tingles down her arm. Still, she forged on.

“ _Let your… p-power… shine_ —”

Cassandra couldn’t hold back the scream of agony that tore itself from her throat as thousands of whispers suddenly exploded in her mind all at once. Her fist was locked tightly around the Stone as pieces of the Sun and Moon incantations shrieked softly in her ears, and she crumpled to the ground.

<}~~~~~~~~~~POV~~~~~~~~~~{>

“Cassandra!”

“Cass, what are you doing?!”

Golden light accentuated with brilliant blue flashes pulsed outward from Cassandra’s glowing silhouette with increasing strength and frequency. Hums and crackles roared through the clearing, making it nigh on impossible to hear anything else.

The powerful waves of pure energy forced Fidella and Maximus, with Pascal on his shoulder, to take cover behind a large pile of rubble. Rapunzel gasped as she was pushed back several steps as well, her heels catching on the uneven ground and making her stumble.

Eugene steadied her with a hand on her shoulder before looking over at Quirin’s hunched form. “Quirin, get back!” he shouted to the man over the thunderous thrumming and crackling from the Stone.

Quirin didn’t respond; instead curling tighter around Varian’s body.

Eugene made a pained noise of frustration, just barely audible over the rising sounds of chaos, and began forcing his way to Quirin through the waves of energy pulsing from Cassandra’s silent, glowing figure. 

“Quirin, we have to go!” he yelled, grabbing the man’s arm and attempting to pull him away from what was surely an oncoming explosion. 

Rapunzel hastened forward to help, her bare feet tripping over the rubble as her dress billowed around her legs. 

Before she could reach them, however, everything went deathly silent. 

Rapunzel stilled, her gaze flicking over to Cassandra, who had collapsed to the ground. 

The light surrounding the woman had stopped pulsing and was now gradually shrinking into a ball around her form.

Rapunzel’s eyes widened, and she heard one of the horses let out a neigh of warning. 

“Euge—”

And the world went white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might be a bit ‘cause it’s been giving me some problems, but I’d expect it to be out sometime next week at the very latest.
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and I'd love to hear if any of you have any predictions!


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